OPEC, Russia Agree to Raise Production

OPEC, Russia Agree to Raise Production

OPEC has agreed with Russia and other non-OPEC producers to raise oil production from July, Reuters reported.

Saudi Arabia stated that the increase will be “measurable” but did not give specific numbers or quotas.

OPEC also announced its OPEC-only producers agreement on June 22, also without releasing output targets. Benchmark Brent oil rose by $2.5 (3.4%) on the day to $75.55 a barrel.

Non-OPEC producers agreed on June 23 to raise production levels amid disagreements between Saudi Arabia and Russia over curbing the supply cuts in place since January 2017.

US President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that he “Hope[s] OPEC will increase output substantially. Need to keep prices down!” after the agreement was announced.

The US, alongside China and India had urged oil producers to increase their output to prevent an oil deficit potentially undermining global economic growth.

The OPEC non-OPEC statement said that they would raise supply in compliance with the previously agreed cuts after months of underproduction due to significant drops in output from Iran and Venezuela.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih stated that OPEC and non-OPEC producers would pump a combined extra 1 million barrels per day (b/d) in the coming months, equivalent to 1% of global supply.

He added that Saudi Arabia will increase output by hundreds of thousands of barrels, but that exact figures will be decided later.

“We already mobilized the Aramco machinery, before coming to Vienna, pre-empting this meeting,” Falih said.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said his country would produce an extra 200,000 b/d in the second half of 2018.

Talking on pressure from Trump to increase output, Novak stated that “It is obvious that we are not being driven by tweets but base our actions on deep market analysis.”

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