The Saudi energy minister said on Monday it was premature to say whether there was consensus among OPEC and its allies to extend a supply cut agreement, but a meeting in May would be key as by then the effect of current reductions would be clearer.
A joint OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial committee known as the JMMC is set to meet in May.
“JMMC will be a key decision point because we will certainly by then know where the consensus view is and, more importantly, before we ask for consensus, we will know where the fundamentals are pointing. I think May is going to be key,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said.
Oil inventories remain higher than average but the market is on its way towards rebalancing, Falih added.
NAN reports that the kingdom in February lowered production by far more than it agreed, bearing most of the group’s burden for supply curbs.
That followed a long stretch at the end of 2018 when the country didn’t comply at all.
A parallel effort by 10 non-OPEC countries remained mediocre, even as conformity for the full alliance improved.
Four out of 11 members of the OPEC adhered to the so-called OPEC+ supply agreement.
However, overall compliance by OPEC itself rose to 106 percent as several countries cut by more than required.
Half of the participating non-OPEC nations reduced output as agreed, resulting in a 51 per cent conformity rate. (Reuters/NAN)
