The 19th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting has commenced via video conference under the Chairmanship of Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy and Co-Chair HE Alexander Novak, Russian Deputy Prime Minister, jointly.
AGENCIES / WEB DESK
OPEC+, the alliance of oil producing countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, has agreed a schedule of output increases to meet growing demand as the global economy recovers from the pandemic recession.
A special meeting arranged in Vienna endorsed the plans, which will see an extra 400,000 barrels a month come on to world markets from the beginning of next month, and will allow some producers — including Saudi Arabia and the UAE — to increase the baseline from which they calculate production.
The deal will also extend the current OPEC+ alliance beyond its original term next April until at least the end of 2022. “OPEC+ is here to stay,” Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, the Saudi energy minister, told media persons after the deal was announced.
On the negotiations that ended the deadlock of last week when an OPEC+ meeting was canceled, the prince said: “Consensus-building is an art.”
International oil markets last traded on Friday, with Brent ending at $73.30 per barrel. The next OPEC+ meeting, the 20th time the alliance ministers have met, will take place on September 1.