Russia is concerned by the slowing global oil economy, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday, according to RIA Novosti.
The minister said the OPEC+ alliance will discuss slowing global oil demand on Thursday. He added that there were no fresh proposals to change the oil production volumes within the global deal, while the group may discuss new metrics for the monitoring of the agreement.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied producers led by Russia, a grouping known as OPEC+, agreed last year to cut oil supply by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to support prices. The cuts came into effect on January 1.
Iraqi Oil Minister Thamer Ghadhban said that when OPEC and its allies met in June “there was this common understanding that perhaps six months since January are not enough (time) to assess the cut that we have introduced and we need two more months.”
“That’s why this meeting is going to be held tomorrow, to see should we continue with this cut or should we introduce a deeper cut,” he said on Wednesday, according to Reuters. “It’s not a unilateral decision, it is a common decision.”
The OPEC+ joint ministerial monitoring committee, known as JMMC, meets on Thursday in Abu Dhabi on the sidelines of an energy conference.
The Iraqi minister said that when cuts OPEC+ originally considered cuts in November “there were two alternatives of 1.6 and 1.8 million barrels per day.”
“But there was resistance by some members and that’s why we agreed on 1.2 million barrels per day,” he said.
Benchmark Brent oil prices have fallen to about $60 a barrel in recent weeks from their 2019 peaks of $75, as worries about a slowing global economy outweigh supply disruptions from sanctions-hit Iran and Venezuela.
Market players fear a U.S.-Chinese trade war could push oil demand growth below 1% for the first time in years.
