Member states of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) may decide to gather for an emergency meeting in March, if oil prices do not improve, the cartel’s president has said.
“We (OPEC) may hold an emergency meeting towards the end of the first quarter (end of February or March) if prices remain at current levels,” Nigerian oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, who is also the OPEC president, revealed at the 7th Gulf Intelligence UAE Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
Kachikwu added that ‘a couple’ of member states had requested for such a meeting, ahead of the group’s scheduled meeting on June 2, “to discuss and reconsider strategy”, without naming the two countries.
Oil prices briefly dipped under $30 a barrel on Tuesday, although brent crude – the global benchmark later recovered to trade at $30.86 at the end of the day.
The UAE Energy Minister however seemed hesitant to nod to such a proposal. “There is a procedure to call for a meeting. Sure we can have a meeting, but the question is what will be the outcome of it,” Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, later said at the forum in Abu Dhabi.
He reiterated that OPEC was not “solely responsible” for the global oversupply of oil, adding that the UAE has no plans to increase production this year.
