Menu

Search

  |   Commentary

Menu

  |   Commentary

Search

Oil in Global Economy Series: Kuwait says oil market to balance by end of OPEC deal without deeper cuts

While the oil market is taking a much longer time to balance this time around, despite a production cut in the tune of 1.76 million barrels per day, Kuwaiti oil minister Essam al-Marzouq remains confident that the market will balance by the time OPEC/N-OPEC agreement to reduce supplies expires next year in March.

Mr. Marzouq said in an interview with Reuters that it has been just two weeks into the extension period of the agreement and it is too early to speculate what decision might be taken up in November when OPEC members will gather in Vienna for their usual second meeting of the year. However, he stressed that he doesn’t see any reason to call an extraordinary gathering of OPEC ministers before the November meeting. Mr. Marzouq suggests that the OPEC cartel will have to adapt a wait and see approach, at least until the end of July to see the level of compliance and the impact it’s having on inventories and re-balancing the market. He shrugged off any suggestions of deeper cuts and said that it is too early to impose caps on Nigerian and Libyan production, despite their production increase in recent months.

According to a report from OECD, the oil stocks declined by 6 million barrels in May but remains 266 million barrels above the five-year average. The North American benchmark WTI is currently trading at $46.4 per barrel and Brent at $2.5 per barrel premium to WTI.

  • Market Data
Close

Welcome to EconoTimes

Sign up for daily updates for the most important
stories unfolding in the global economy.