UAE energy minister sees no need for earlier than scheduled OPEC+ meeting

Mazrouei says the agreement was long term for a reason and that they would only consider altering it if the group saw something that would shake the market.

Monday 13/02/2023

UAE energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei

DUBAI - The United Arab Emirates energy minister on Monday said he sees no need for an earlier than scheduled meeting of the OPEC+ group of producers.

"I do not see a requirement for a meeting. The market is balanced," Suhail al-Mazrouei said when asked whether the alliance would meet earlier than scheduled after Russia announced unilateral cuts.

Russia said on Friday it will cut oil production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) next month after the West imposed price caps on Russian oil and oil products.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, known collectively as OPEC+, agreed in October to cut oil production targets by 2 million bpd until the end of 2023.

Mazrouei said that the agreement was long term for a reason and that they would only consider altering it if the group saw something "that would shake the market". "We haven't seen that. The market is balanced and stable," he added.

An OPEC+ ministerial committee is set to meet in early April with a full ministerial meeting planned for June 4.