OPEC+ to Make Sure Oil Prices Don't Drop Steeply Again, Barkindo Says

Alex Lawler and Ahmad Ghaddar

October 15, 2020

OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo (File Photo by Bartolomej Tomic)

The OPEC+ alliance will ensure oil prices do not plunge steeply again when it meets to set policy at the end of November, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said on Thursday, adding that oil demand has been recovering slower than expected.

Barkindo was answering a question on whether there was room for a planned increase in oil output from January by OPEC+, a grouping that includes OPEC states, Russia and other allies.

"We have to be realistic that this recovery is not picking up pace at the rate that we expected earlier in the year," he said. "Demand itself is still looking anemic."

A technical OPEC+ committee meeting is taking place on Thursday to discuss compliance with oil cuts and market fundamentals.
The group had 102% compliance with its cuts in September, two OPEC+ sources told Reuters.

Countries such as Iraq, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates, which had fallen short of their commitments, have been asked to make additional cuts until the end of the year to compensate for the shortfalls.

Barkindo said the compensation scheme was working well.

OPEC+ is due to taper production cuts by 2 million barrels per day (bpd), from 7.7 million bpd currently, in January.

It will meet on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 to set its policy. 

(Reporting by Alex Lawler and Ahmad Ghaddar Editing by Edmund Blair and David Goodman )