OIL MARKET: Prices hover at over $80 per barrel OPEC+ announce additional voluntary cuts
By Eyo Nsima
Oil prices, weekend, dropped to over $80 per barrel, from more than $90 per barrel, recorded in October 2023 as the OPEC+ countries move to achieve market stability.
Specifically, the prices of Bonny Light, OPEC Basket and Brent, have dropped to $81.28, $85 and $78.88 per barrel, from over $90 per barrel in the global market.
Meanwhile, the OPEC Secretariat noted the announcement of several OPEC+ countries of additional voluntary cuts to the total of 2.2 million barrels per day, aimed at supporting the stability and balance of oil markets.
These voluntary cuts are calculated from the 2024 required production level as per the 35th OPEC Ministerial Meeting held on June 4 2023, and are in addition to the voluntary cuts previously announced in April 2023 and later extended until the end of 2024.
These additional voluntary cuts are announced by the following OPEC+ countries: Saudi Arabia (1,000 thousand b/d); Iraq (223 thousand b/d); United Arab Emirates (163 thousand b/d); Kuwait (135 thousand b/d); Kazakhstan (82 thousand b/d); Algeria (51 thousand b/d); and Oman (42 thousand b/d) starting 1st of January until the end of March 2024. Afterwards, in order to support market stability, these voluntary cuts will be returned gradually subject to market conditions.
The above will be in addition to the announced voluntary cut by the Russian Federation of 500 thousand barrels per day for the same period (starting 1st of January until the end of March 2024), which will be made from the average export levels of the months of May and June of 2023, and will consist of 300 thousand barrels a day of crude oil and 200 thousand barrels per day of refined products.
