OPEC and non-OPEC oil producing countries have set a new record in February with conformity to an output reduction deal hitting 138 per cent, OPEC said.
OPEC and non-OPEC oil producing countries have set a new record in February with conformity to an output reduction deal hitting 138 per cent, OPEC said.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed with some non-OPEC members to work towards bringing down a stock overhang to a five-year average by cutting production by 1.8 million barrels per day. The agreement, which came into force at the start of January 2017, will run through 2018.
“The committee stressed that all participating countries should strive to achieve or exceed full conformity with their voluntary production adjustments,” the OPEC statement said.
“February continued the accelerated rebalancing path witnessed in recent months.”
The supply cut’s original aim was to shrink oil inventories in developed economies to their five-year average. Stocks in February were 44 million barrels above that level, OPEC said, the closest the group has come to the target.
“Participating countries, working in concerted action, have once again demonstrated their dedication to expediting the rebalancing of the oil market,” OPEC said in a statement.
OPEC’s February production slipped by 77,000 barrels per day to average 32.19 million bpd, according to its monthly oil market report released last week.
The compliance figures reflect both high adherence by top exporter Saudi Arabia and other Gulf OPEC countries, as well as an involuntary slide in production in Venezuela, whose output is dropping amid an economic crisis.
Source: Pipeline ME
