Members discuss production cuts at OPEC+ oil policy meeting – Reuters
ALBAWABA – The OPEC+ oil policy meeting, which launched Saturday, has been shrouded with discretion so far, as none of the participating countries have made any official statements as of yet.
Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their allies (OPEC+) are reportedly discussing further production cuts.
Sources have leaked to Reuters that participating countries are looking into cutting outputs by some one million barrels per day, the news agency said Saturday.
OPEC+ is responsible for around 40 percent of the world’s supply of crude oil
Any such decisions by the organization can have major impact on oil prices worldwide.
According to Reuters, three sources said cuts are being discussed among options for Sunday, which is when OPEC+ ministers gather in Vienna.
Output cuts to date amounted to nearly 3.66 million barrels per day as of April 2023.
Should the reported cut be approved during the meeting Sunday, this would bring total production cuts up to 4.66 million barrels per day, at around 4.5 percent of global demand, Reuters reported.
However, two OPEC+ sources, whose identities remained undisclosed as well, told Reuters that they do not expect the group to agree to further cuts.
Media censorship on OPEC+ oil policy meeting
OPEC has denied reporters from Reuters, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal access to the oil policy meetings in Vienna, Reuters and Bloomberg claimed on Friday.
OPEC staff declined on Friday to give media accreditation to Reuters journalists to cover the event, the news agency claimed.
The staff handling media accreditation at one of Vienna's luxury hotels said they could not issue accreditation without an invite. They did not comment when asked why Reuters reporters were not invited.
"We believe that transparency and a free press serve both readers and markets, and we object to this restriction on coverage," a Reuters spokesperson said on Friday.
Reporters from the three outlets, many of whom have been covering OPEC meetings for years, did not receive invitations from OPEC ahead of the meeting, Reuters confirmed.
OPEC+ and the Western narrative
On various past occasions, United States (US) and European Union (EU) officials accused OPEC of manipulating oil prices and undermining the global economy, according to the news agency.
But OPEC officials have repeatedly insisted that the US’ money printing operation over the last decade is what drove inflation and forced OPEC to maintain the value of their main export commodity.
"We will never hesitate to take any decision to achieve more balance and stability (on) the global oil market," Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani said on arriving in Vienna.
Surprise announcements by OPEC+ in April drove oil prices up to more than $87 on the barrel. But the organization quickly rescinded the cuts under pressure from concerns over what it would do to the global economy and demand.
On Friday, international benchmark Brent was trading around $76, as reported by Reuters.
