Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources and Chairman of Saudi Aramco Khalid Al Falih said yesterday that he hopes the production cuts presently being undertaken by a group of member countries of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC oil producers, led by the kingdom and Russia, will reduce in 2019, according to Reuters.
The cartel, which comprises 24 nations, has scaled back production by around 1.8mn barrels per day, with OPEC countries pulling back by 1.2mn per day. The agreement will continue until the end of 2018.
Al Falih stated said the OPEC and non-OPEC members were determined to bring stability and to balance the market. Oil prices have held firm in the $60-70 range since the start of the year despite rapidly increasing output coming from the US.
“The next step may be easing of the production constraints. My estimation is that it will happen sometime in 2019. But we don’t know when and we don’t know how,” Al Falih said.
