OPEC+ Leaves Oil Production Levels Unchanged

The OPEC+ panel reviewing the oil market ended a brief meeting on Wednesday without recommending any changes to the current oil production policy, hours after Saudi Arabia and Russia said in separate statements they would stick to their respective voluntary supply cuts by the end of the year.

The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the OPEC+ group, which met via videoconference today, affirmed the commitment of the several OPEC+ members and thanked Saudi Arabia and Russia for their voluntary supply cuts and “expressed its full recognition and support for the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia aimed at supporting the stability of the oil market.”  

The committee will also “stand ready to take additional measures at any time,” OPEC said in a statement.

The next JMMC meeting is scheduled to be held on November 26, 2023.

Earlier today, Saudi Arabia and Russia, the key OPEC+ partners, said they would keep their respective production and export cuts in November, and review the decisions next month to decide if the cuts should be deepened or eased.

Saudi Arabia said early on Wednesday it would continue cutting an extra 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from its crude oil production in November and December, and Russia said in a separate statement it would continue to reduce oil exports by 300,000 bpd until the end of the year.

“This voluntary cut decision will be reviewed next month to consider deepening the cut or increasing production,” Saudi Arabia said.

Both Saudi Arabia and Russia reiterated today that the ongoing oil supply cuts are aimed at keeping “stability and balance on the oil markets.”

After two weeks of rally, oil prices succumbed this week to the wider market sell-off amid fears of higher-for-longer interest rates, with Brent Crude prices dipping below $90 per barrel at $89.50 and WTI Crude at around $87.60 a barrel early on Wednesday.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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