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Azerbaijan joins extension of OPEC+ deal

1 December 2017 12:17 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijan joins extension of OPEC+ deal

By Sara Israfilbayova

Crude prices rise during Asian trading on Friday, as new arrangements by OPEC and non-OPEC countries were in line with market expectations.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, increased 0.34 percent, to $62.84 per barrel, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures up 0.28 percent, to $57.56 per barrel, according to Gazeta.ru.

During the last meeting of OPEC+, which was held on November 30 in Vienna, participants of the agreement agreed to extend the deal to limit oil production for nine months - until the end of 2018.

Azerbaijan's Energy Ministry reported that the country joined the extension of the deal of oil production cuts until the end of next year to ensure global stockpiles keep falling and prices maintain recent gains.

Energy Minister of Azerbaijan, Parviz Shahbazov said that the meeting participants examined the situation that has been observed in the world oil market over the year since the signing of the Vienna agreement.

There were made presentations on the pace of global economic development, expectations, demand for oil and oil products. OPEC officials assessed the level of fulfillment of the commitments by the countries that signed the agreement. The stabilization of oil prices and their growth to the level of $60-63, the reduction in supply on the market and oil reserves, as well as the relative stabilization on the market were recognized as the results of cooperation in the framework of OPEC + deal.

The minister noted that in the short term there is no forecast of an increase in demand, which is an important factor for price stability on the market.

The prices should be strongly supported so that they maintained in the current range, Shahbazov said.

"Our position, as the Azerbaijani state, is that the extension of the agreement on the oil production reduction by the end of next year is appropriate, and this decision can strengthen the results achieved in the oil market by making them more long-term," Shahbazov said.

Azerbaijan’s participation in joint oil production cuts is defined at 35,000 barrels per day.

The country was producing 793,900 barrels of oil per day in January, 776,400 barrels per day in February, 733,300 barrels per day in March, 781,100 barrels per day in April, 785,300 barrels per day in May, 793,700 barrels per day in June, 796,700 barrels per day in July, 734,800 barrels per day in August, 785,700 barrels per day in September and 800,600 barrels per day in October.

OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached an agreement in December 2016 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices. OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1.

Non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day starting from January 1, 2017.

OPEC and its partners decided to extend its production cuts till March 2018 in Vienna on May 25, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry.

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