OPEC news

• Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih visited Russia last week where he had an official meeting with President Vladimir Putin and attended the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. In an interview with Russia’s TASS news agency during his visit, Al-Falih said that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other leading producers would further assess the market situation in July before considering other measures that include possibly extending the oil output cuts for longer than nine months, or even deepening them. A ministerial committee set up to monitor the cuts is set to meet in Russia in July. “Nothing is off the table but today nothing is on the table either. We made a deal,” he added in the interview that was published on June 3. On May 31, speaking alongside his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak in Moscow, Al-Falih said he saw their new cooperation lasting after the current output agreement expires in March next year.
• The current cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC nations will outlive the present oil output cut deal, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo said on May 31. “We believe this cooperation is in the best interests of both consumers and producers,” Barkindo said during a visit to Moscow. “We do not expect a divorce in this marriage,” he added. He said on June 1 at the economic forum in St. Petersburg that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told him Moscow was fully committed to complying with the output cuts.
• Oil exports from Iraq’s federally operated fields excluding those from Kurdistan averaged 3.262 million barrels per day (bpd), the Iraqi Oil Ministry said on June 1. However, tanker-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed Iraq’s exports at 3.31 million bpd during the month. Also on June 1, Iraq’s Oil Minister Jabar Ali Al-Luaibi appointed Kareem Hattab as the new deputy for upstream operations. Hattab, who will oversee exploration and production, previously served as director general of the state-owned Iraqi Oil Exploration Company.
• Nigeria’s presidency and lawmakers are still in talks over the record 7.44 trillion naira ($24.45 billion) budget for 2017, a government official said on Wednesday, nearly three weeks after the spending plans were passed by the Senate. The budget aims to drag the OPEC member, which has Africa’s biggest economy, out of a recession that was brought on by low global oil prices that have slashed government revenues, weakened the naira currency and caused chronic dollar shortages. The budget must be signed by the president to become law. The Senate passed the budget on May 11.
• Production from Libya’s biggest oil field, Sharara, has increased allowing the OPEC nation to pump crude at the highest level since October 2014 when it pumped 850,000 bpd, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Sharara’s oil output rose by 25,000 bpd to 250,000 barrels, Bloomberg reported on June 1, citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Libya’s output rose to 827,000 bpd after the increase in output from Sharara, Mustafa Sanalla, head of the state-run National Oil Corp., said in a text message.

Source: Arab News