Saudi Arabia and Russia have both confirmed that they will be keeping their supply cuts in November despite the recent oil price rally.
The announcements came just hours before the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee and appeared to be coordinated.
Expectations were that no changes would be made during this meeting, and oil prices were trading slightly lower on Wednesday morning.
Saudi Arabia and Russia, the key OPEC+ partners, will be keeping their oil supply cuts in November despite the recent crude oil price rally.
Hours before a regular OPEC+ panel meeting, Saudi Arabia said early on Wednesday it would continue cutting an extra 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from its crude oil production in November and December, and Russia said in a separate statement it would continue to reduce oil exports by 300,000 bpd until the end of the year.
The near-simultaneous announcements from the two leaders of the OPEC+ alliance did not surprise the market, although some analysts have suggested that the Kingdom could begin easing the cut sooner than oil market participants believe as the world’s top crude oil exporter wouldn’t risk demand destruction through too high prices.
Saudi Arabia continues with the extra 1 million bpd cut in November and December and thus the Kingdom’s oil production will be approximately 9 million bpd until the end of the year, the Saudi Ministry of Energy said as carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
“This voluntary cut decision will be reviewed next month to consider deepening the cut or increasing production,” the agency noted.
At the same time, Alexander Novak, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister and top oil representative of the country at OPEC+ meetings, said in an official statement that Moscow would continue with the 300,000-bpd cut to oil exports by the end of the year. Russia also said it would review the decision next month after analyzing the market.
Both Saudi Arabia and Russia reiterated today that the ongoing oil supply cuts are aimed at keeping “stability and balance on the oil markets.”
The announcements came only hours before the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of OPEC+ meets for a regular discussion of the oil market developments in recent weeks. Expectations were that no changes would be made to decisions about supply during the meeting.
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