Kuwait oil minister optimistic markets will slowly rebalance

OPEC, non-OPEC exceed targeted output cuts: Al-Marzouq

KUWAIT CITY, June 22, (Agencies): Kuwait’s Oil Minister Essam Al-Marzouq said on Thursday that he was optimistic that oil markets will gradually return to balance supported by the record compliance with the oil supply-cut pact by OPEC and non-OPEC.

Says OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers reached the highest compliance level in May with their production cuts, achieving a level of 106 percent and urges other oil producers to do more to make the production cut agreement successful.

Kuwait heads a Joint OPEC-NonOPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), which includes Russia, Oman, Algeria, and Venezuela.

The next JMMC Meeting is scheduled to be held in St Petersburg, Russia, on July 24, 2017.

OPEC and non-OPEC agreed last year to cut oil output by 1.8 million barrels per day for six months from Jan 1. The oil producers decided last month to extend the production cuts the for another nine months until March 2018.

Independent

Kuwait’s oil minister said Thursday that OPEC and independent producers have exceeded their targeted oil output cuts, but without stemming a decline in commodity prices.

“The commitments to production cuts in May reached 106 percent, the highest percentage since the start of output reductions in January,” said Essam Al-Marzouq, who heads a joint ministerial committee overseeing adherence to the cuts.

Producers agreed last year to slash output by 1.8 million barrels per day for six months, starting January 2017, to help the sector cope with a supply glut that has dented prices.

In May, when the total cuts surpassed the agreed target, the producers decided to extend the reduction deal for another nine months until March 2018.

But oil prices have fallen, with North Sea Brent crude dropping below $45 a barrel for the first time in seven months and West Texas Intermediate settling at just above $42 a barrel — their lowest levels since last August.

Oil prices had recovered to above $55 a barrel after the OPEC and nonOPEC output deal.

OPEC and participating nonOPEC producing countries recorded the highest conformity ever with their voluntary adjustments in production, achieving a level of 106 percent, the organization reported.

The Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) affirmed the adherence to the production ceiling, based on a report by the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Technical Committee (JTC) for May 2017.