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Vienna (dpa) - With a surprisingly sharp cut in oil production in February and March, the oil alliance Opec + is reacting to the economic imponderables in the Corona crisis.
The oil production of the alliance, which consists of a total of 23 countries, will drop by at least 1.425 million barrels (159 liters each) a day in these two months, said the Saudi energy minister Abdulasis bin Salman after an online ministerial meeting of the oil alliance Opec +.
Saudi Arabia alone will produce one million barrels less a day.
"Others will also voluntarily contribute 425,000 barrels," said the minister.
Even if there are signs of an economic recovery in the Corona crisis, the oil-producing countries should remain vigilant and cautious, Saudi Arabia had already demanded at the start of the meeting.
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Last but not least, the move is aimed at the huge oil stocks that are emerging.
"This is primarily a preventive measure," the minister said.
The production output of Saudi Arabia will thus fall from 9.1 to 8.1 million barrels a day in these two months.
The decision of Saudi Arabia was made without consultation.
«We didn't ask anyone.
It's a decision that underlines leadership. "
This could also be understood as a nod to Russia, which has been trying to play an increasingly dominant role since the oil alliance was founded at the end of 2016.
According to Opec, the oil-producing countries Russia and Kazakhstan alone are expanding their production in February and March by a total of 75,000 barrels a day.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Nowak said that the OPEC + countries had not known about Saudi Arabia's voluntary cut in advance.
This is a New Year's present to the oil industry.
«We have analyzed the market.
The worst is behind us. "
The market is recovering.
Nowak justified this with the start of vaccination against the coronavirus.
So air traffic is recovering.
Kazakhstan's energy master Nurlan Nogayev said the joint efforts had stabilized market prices.
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Oil prices rose significantly on Tuesday.
A barrel (159 liters) of the North Sea variety Brent cost 53.25 US dollars last.
That was $ 2.16 more than Monday.
The price of a barrel of the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose by $ 2.31 to $ 49.94.
In the meantime, the WTI price had risen to $ 50.05.
Many oil-exporting countries are in a difficult situation.
They urgently need the income from the oil business for their national budget, but too much supply could put prices under pressure.
The states of the Alliance Opec + supply around 45 percent of global oil production.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210105-99-910255 / 2