OPEC+ struggles to pump more and curb soaring prices
The member countries of OPEC + have renewed their objective of opening the valves slightly more important for this summer © DADO RUVIC / REUTERS
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The OPEC+ oil-producing countries renewed their goal of opening the floodgates slightly more for this summer on Thursday, June 30, but this will not be enough to curb the surge in prices caused by the war in Ukraine.
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Representatives of the thirteen members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their ten allies (OPEC+) agreed on an increase in production of 648,000 barrels per day in August, as in July, compared to 432 000 barrels previously fixed, the alliance said in a statement after a meeting by videoconference.
The cartel therefore remains on the same line after the turning point taken last month.
Until then, and since the spring of 2021, it had limited itself to modest increases in its quotas with the aim of gradually returning to pre-Covid volume.
For Thierry Bros, professor at Sciences Po Paris and specialist in energy issues, the decision is purely “
symbolic
”: “
There are two constraints to this decision.
The first is their link with Russia, so not to open the floodgates too much.
And the second is that the residual unused capacity is not necessarily extremely large in OPEC or OPEC+.
We are more or less towards levels fairly close to maximum production wherever we are in the world.
»
OPEC+ is in fact unable to compensate for the lack of oil linked to the establishment by the United States and the European Union (EU) of an embargo on Russian deliveries.
Even the frontrunners - the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia - would struggle to boost their volume, according to remarks reported this week by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Towards lower prices with a recession?
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Brent from the North Sea, the benchmark for crude oil in Europe, has climbed by more than 15%, and its American counterpart, WTI, by more than 13%.
They were moving around $114.27 and $105.20 a barrel respectively on Thursday, after reaching levels in March not seen since the 2008 financial crisis.
Faced with this
skyrocketing
, France had again urged producing countries on Monday to increase their volume in an "
exceptional manner
".
The subject will be on the menu of US President Joe Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia in mid-July.
Unless fears of recession take over and drive prices down.
“
If countries are heading towards a recession, perhaps we will need less oil,
analyzes Thierry Bros.
But today, we see that our stocks are historically low, but we also see that high oil prices, but also inflation could generate a recession and in this case, we need less oil.
»
►Also read: G7: "The cap on the price of Russian oil, a gas plant for political purposes"
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