OPEC+, oil producers and allies group, meets on Wednesday, August 19 with a schedule to review members compliance with oil cuts as a way to support oil prices slump in the raging global pandemic. The group is unlikely to change its latest output policy which calls for reducing the global output by 7.7 million barrel/day from the previous 9.7 million barrel/day implemented from May 1 until June 31.
The source said the the virtual meeting is mostly focusing on conformity and compensation, and scheduled to start at 1400 GMT, and discussing particularly in members country compliance such as Kazakhstan, Nigeria, and Iraq rather than tweak in supply cut deal, as the aforementioned countries have made smaller share of reduction than other members such as Saudi Arabia.
The group overall cut compliance was seen at 95% to 97% in July, according to OPEC+ and media data, which considered high by OPEC standards, as in July, top exporter Saudi Arabia was still producing below the country target. Nigeria and Iraq, while lagging in the previous compliance, also pumping less than previous months according to media surveys and other assessments. King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia’s monarch, spoke to President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, highlighting the importance of compliance by all OPEC+ members and allies, as reported by Saudi state news agency.
Currently, Brent crude LCOc1 is trading near a 5-month high above $45 a barrel and the price has more than doubled since hitting a 21-year low below $16 in April, sustained partly by the OPEC+ deal cuts.
