Abu Dhabi: OPEC and allied oil producers will cut or adjust production as needed to balance the market, the group’s president, United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei, said on Wednesday.
If OPEC+ needs to reduce output, it will do so, he said in a Bloomberg TV interview in Abu Dhabi. The producers will do whatever is required to keep the market stable and keep crude inventory levels where they are, Al Mazrouei said. Oil production is above expectations, and OPEC+ needs to change its strategy, he said.
“We have cut in the past to reach the market balance, and if we need to cut production to keep the market balanced, we will,” Al Mazrouei said. “The group will reach consensus on whatever is required to adjust the market.”
Oil showed little sign of recovering from its unprecedented decline as investors flee a market battered by swelling supplies and a darkening demand outlook. Futures in New York held losses after plunging 7.1% in the previous session in the biggest one-day drop in more than three years.
OPEC’s biggest producer Saudi Arabia has said output needs to be curbed by about 1 million barrels a day from October levels, and the kingdom plans to pare its exports by 500,000 barrels a day in December. OPEC plans to meet next month in Vienna to assess the market.
Oil market fundamentals “are still reasonable” and don’t justify the sell-off on Tuesday, Al Mazrouei said. OPEC+ isn’t targeting a price but is seeking instead to keep crude inventories in line with their 5-year average, he said.