Oil Producers Claim Progress in Curbing the World’s Daily Supply
|
Version 0 of 1. VIENNA — A group of oil producers both in and outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries are ahead of schedule in reaching their target of taking 1.8 million barrels of crude a day off global markets, Russia’s energy minister said on Sunday. The comments by the minister, Alexander Novak, came at the end of the first meeting of a joint OPEC/non-OPEC committee set up to monitor compliance with an agreement meant to push up the price of crude. On Dec. 10, Russia and 10 other nations outside OPEC decided to join with the 13 OPEC members to reduce the daily amount of oil on sale by 1.8 million barrels in the first six months of this year. Mr. Novak said firm figures on what had been achieved would not be available before the end of the month. But he estimated that close to 1.5 million barrels a day had been cut so far, adding that many countries were exceeding promised reductions. Crude oil sold for more than $100 a barrel in the summer of 2014. The price dropped below $30 a barrel in January 2016 and seldom rose much above $50 for the rest of the year, prompting the concerted action last month by producers within and outside OPEC. On Friday, benchmark United States crude was selling at $52.42 a barrel in New York while a barrel of Brent crude, used to price international oils, was priced at $55.49 in London. Mr. Novak said that his country, which committed to the largest cut, 300,000 barrels a day, had already trimmed production by 100,000 barrels — double its projected target of 50,000 barrels by late January. The announced reductions are taking place after years of failed attempts, with individual OPEC members ignoring calls to hew to production targets in an attempt to maximize sales and OPEC outsiders showing little interest in cooperating with the oil cartel. |