Opec not targeting a certain oil price
abu dhabi — Opec producers are not targeting a certain oil price, UAE Minister of Energy and Industry Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei said on Sunday.
Speaking at an industry event in Abu Dhabi, the minister said Opec is more focused on identifying the right level of oil inventory at its next meeting than the impact on supplies of new US sanctions on Iran.
Mazrouei, who holds Opec’s presidency this year, said he is worried about the level of oil investment in 2019 and 2020. Brent crude surpassed $77 a barrel last week after Washington withdrew from an international nuclear deal with Iran.
Asked on Sunday about oil supply worries as a result of the sanctions, Mazrouei told reporters: “That’s not what we are concerned about now”.
“What we are concerned about in the next (Opec) meeting is what is the right level of inventory that we should see, and (how) can we put this group together for longer,” he said.
Opec is set to meet in June to set oil policy together with nonOpec producers participating in the supply cut deal.
Mazrouei said there was no reason to worry about supply, adding that this was not the first time an Opec member had been in such a situation. “We managed to solve the supply issue but we still believe we have the buffer (in oil supplies)... We will meet in June to discuss it,” he said.
Opec has enough spare production capacity to cushion oil markets if the US re-imposes sanctions on Iran, according to Mazrouei.
Three members of the Opec — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE — provide an adequate “buffer” of potential output, the minister told reporters in Abu Dhabi. “Don’t worry about supply,” Al Mazrouei said. “I don’t think there will be issues as a result of sanctions.” — Reuters, Bloomberg