OPEC, allies agree to raise oil output

Bloomberg

OPEC and its allies gave the final sign-off to an oil-production increase, sealing a victory for Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Major producers outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries — including Mexico and Kazakhstan — met ministers from the cartel on Saturday and endorsed a nominal output increase of 1 million barrels a day, said Ecuador’s Minister of Hydrocarbons Carlos Perez. In real terms, that would add 600,000 to 700,000 barrels a day of crude to the market over about six months, said Oman’s Oil Minister Mohammed Al Rumhy.
The OPEC agreement was reached after a last-minute compromise with Iran. The deal is a win for Saudi Arabia and Russia, which were the first members to suggest an increase and hold the most spare capacity. They now have the flexibility to respond to disruptions and moderate prices at a time when US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela threaten to throw the oil market into turmoil.
The terms of the deal were rather convoluted. The group’s agreed production increase of 1 million barrels a day was described as “nominal” by Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih. In reality, the accord will add a smaller amount of oil to the market because a number of countries are unable to raise their output.
Saturday’s agreement did not detail how the production increase would be split between OPEC and non-OPEC nations, said Perez.

UAE: Fluctuations in oil price don’t serve producers, consumers alike
VIENNA/ WAM

Fluctuations in oil prices do not serve producers and consumers alike, stated Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Industry and President of the OPEC Conference, while addressing the 9th meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitor-
ing Committee (JMMC) in
Vienna on Saturday.
“Our goal is to rebalance the world oil market by striking a balance between demand and supply,” he said.