Status quo at OPEC+ on oil production in an uncertain world

A gas station in Frankfurt, Germany, in October 2022 (illustration photo).

AP - Michael Probst

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

The members of OPEC + met this Sunday, November 4 by videoconference.

The question on everyone's lips was whether OPEC+ would further reduce production to support prices.

Oil-producing countries have decided to maintain their production quotas in a very uncertain climate, on the eve of the entry into force of new sanctions targeting Russian crude.

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The representatives of the thirteen members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Riyadh, and their ten allies led by Moscow, have agreed to keep the course decided in October of a reduction of two million barrels per day until the end of 2023.

A press release from OPEC + confirmed the maintenance of the previous decision, which had been taken to support prices and had aroused the ire of the United States, whose administration is anxious to lower prices at the pump.

Since then, the prices of the two world references for black gold have lost ground.

The decision was made public after a quick meeting by videoconference this Sunday, a habit taken during the Covid-19 pandemic after an exceptional meeting which was held at the beginning of October last in Vienna, Austria, at the headquarters of the cartel.

►Also read: An OPEC + meeting loaded with uncertainties for world oil

The next OPEC+ meeting is set for June 4, 2023. The participants nevertheless specify that they are ready for a new meeting “ 

 ” between now and then to take “ 

” if necessary .

Caution tinged with vigilance.

The EU, the G7 and Australia have planned to put a cap on the price of Russian oil, imminently, to deprive Moscow of the means to finance its war in Ukraine.

The price of a barrel of Ural crude is moving around 65 dollars, just above the ceiling (60 dollars).

If the level of the cap decided limits the impact, the Russian Federation has warned that it will no longer deliver oil to countries that adopt such a mechanism.

Not every country can afford it, any more than they can afford enmities in the G7.

►

With agencies

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