The 178th extraordinary meeting of the Conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
ended in Vienna, Austria on Thursday with a new forecast of 0.48 million barrels per day (mb/d) for global oil demand growth in 2020, down from 1.1 mb/d in December 2019.
The Conference of oil ministers from member countries of the organization said that the review was due to “the COVID-19 outbreak, which has had a major adverse impact on global economic and oil demand forecasts in 2020, particularly for the first and second quarters”.
A statement by the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna, made available to journalists, said that the Conference took note of oil market developments since it last met in Vienna on 6 December, 2019 and reviewed the oil market outlook for the remainder of 2020.
“It noted the positive ramifications of the decision to further voluntarily adjust production at the 177th Meeting of the Conference, and subsequently the 7th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting, with market sentiment improving in the weeks thereafter,” the oil ministers said in their resolutions issued after the meeting.
The Conference also noted that the further impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on oil market fundamentals necessitates further continuous monitoring.
“Accordingly, in view of the current fundamentals and the consensus on market perspectives, the Conference decided to recommend to the 8th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting to extend the adjustment levels agreed at the 177th Meeting of the Conference and the 7th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting for the remainder of the year.
“It also agreed to recommend to the 8th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting a further adjustment of 1.5 mb/d until 30 June 2020 to be applied pro-rata between OPEC (1.0 mb/d) and non-OPEC producing countries (0.5 mb/d) participating in the Declaration of Cooperation,” the statement quoted the oil minister as saying.
The Conference commended all OPEC Member Countries, as well as non-OPEC countries participating in the Declaration of Cooperation, for their continued commitment to achieving and sustaining balance and stability in the market.
According to the statement, the Member Countries reaffirmed their continued focus on fundamentals for a stable and balanced oil market, in the interests of producers, consumers, and the global economy.
The Conference confirmed that its next Ordinary Meeting will hold in Vienna, Austria, on June 9, 2020, and noted that September 2020 will mark the 60th year anniversary since the founding of OPEC in Baghdad in 1960.
GIK/APA