OPEC working to keep oil markets stable, Saudi Energy Minister claims
(Bloomberg) – Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said OPEC is working to keep oil markets stable and improve global energy security, without targeting any specific price level for crude.
“Proactive, preemptive and precaution — these three words will address how we are attending to the situation knowing there are uncertainties coming from multiple directions,” Prince Abdulaziz said during a discussion at the World Petroleum Congress in Calgary.
As for demand in China — one of the key drivers of global crude prices — “the jury is still out,” Prince Abdulaziz said.
Saudi Arabia has led a charge since April to reduce output from OPEC and its allies to revive flagging supplies, starting with a unilateral 500,000 bpd production cut that took effect in May, followed by a 1 MMbpd reduction that has been extended through the end of the year.
Prince Abdulaziz said later, on the sidelines of the conference, that output plans will be reviewed every month and that they’ll wait until they see “real numbers” that illustrate the market’s tightness before making further decisions.
