OPEC-Russia talks set to keep oil cuts even as glut vanishes
OPEC and Russia will meet in Saudi Arabia this week after all but banishing a global oil glut. While looming political crises threaten to tighten supplies further, the group seems determined to keep its cuts in place.
ALMOST 16 months of output curbs by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners have seen crude rally to a three-year high near US$ 70 a barrel. That’s replenishing their coffers after the worst oil slump in a generation, encouraging the producers to extend their intervention even as Venezuela’s petro- economy implodes and Donald Trump threatens Iran with sanctions.
“Would they declare victory now and stop? No way,” said Mike Wittner, head of oil market research at Societe Generale. “They’re happy to see inventories continue to go down, to see prices of US$ 70 or US$ 80. In the end, it’s about revenues. The question is at what point do they become uncomfortable with higher prices?”
While analysts warn that price gains could backfire on OPEC by spurring rival US supplies or crimping demand, ministers gathering in Jiddah on Apr 20 will focus on ways of prolonging their cooperation.
That could include new inventory targets that extend the cuts, and laying the foundations for an alliance that will last for years. Any recommendations this week would have to be ratified at the group’s full meeting in June.
OPEC and Russia, for decades competitors in the oil market, forged an alliance in late 2016 to combat the surplus unleashed by a boom in American shale production. Though it’s taken longer than expected, the strategy is paying off. With inventories subsiding to normal levels, the International Energy Agency says OPEC and its partners can declare “Mission Accomplished.”
Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s biggest member, says the curbs should continue at least until their scheduled expiry at the end of the year, and possibly into 2019. Energy Minister Khalid AlFalih contends this is necessary to ensure markets have properly rebalanced, and that prices are high enough to encourage the global oil industry invests in future supplies.
There are other incentives for sticking with the strategy: The IEA estimates that in the first quarter, OPEC nations earned almost US$ 400 million ( RM1.5 billion) a day more than a year ago because of stronger oil prices. Russia’s budget gained about 1.2 trillion rubles ( US$ 19.5 billion) last year, according to its Energy Ministry.
“They are willingly overtightening this market,” said Jan Stuart, an oil economist at consultant Cornerstone Macro in New York. “It’s not self- defeating if what you are looking for is a little extra money. If the idea is to get a ton of money in the door now, then they’re probably doing the right thing.”
Saudi Arabia is said to seek a price increase to US$ 80 a barrel, according to people familiar with the matter, to cover weighty domestic spending needs and attract investors to a partial sale of its state oil company, Saudi Aramco.
Although Russia, less dependent on oil revenues, usually sounds more cautious about pushing on, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said he supports prolonging cooperation. Russian oil companies such as Lukoil have softened initial objections to the deal, which impedes their expansion plans, as the financial rewards become clear.
The accord also serves political objectives for Russia, cementing President Vladimir Putin’s role as a power-broker in the Middle East, where his government maintains ties with the antagonistic regimes in Saudi Arabia and Iran, and supports Syria’s President Bashar Assad against a rebellion backed by western powers.