Oil prices approaching US$110 a barrel are “acceptable” for producers and consumers, and Opec does not need to change its output target, said the UAE’s deputy energy chief.
The group is scheduled to next meet in June in Vienna to debate its 30 million barrel per day (bpd) production ceiling, which has remained unchanged since December 2011.
“I don’t think there will be any change in the quota,” said Matar Al Neyadi, the undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Energy. “The market is stable, the supply is stable. The price is acceptable and comfortable for the producing countries and the consuming countries.”
Brent futures for delivery next month ticked up half a per cent yesterday to US$107.82 a barrel as concerns of conflict between Ukraine and Russia were stoked by a confrontation between Ukrainian and Russian forces in Slovyansk. Russia called for an emergency UN Security Council Meeting.
Last month the group pumped 29.6 million bpd, slightly below its quota, because of cuts in Iraq and Libya and reductions in Saudi Arabia, according to the International Energy Agency, the consumers’ watchdog. The IEA raised its estimate of how much Opec supply the world needs by 350,000 bpd to 30.6 million bpd for the second half of this year.
Prices remain below the level that Opec members Nigeria and Venezuela require to break even on their budgets, according to recent data from Deutsche Bank. The South American country, home to the world’s biggest oil reserves, needs an average price of $121 a barrel this year.
Opec has yet to decide on individual quotas for members, which it eliminated with the last production ceiling in 2011, or on a new leader for the organisation.
“We need to see,” said Mr Al Neyadi. “No need to anticipate anything, the meeting will be in two months and I am sure at the meeting anything could happen.”
ayee@thenational.ae
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
Which products are to be taxed?
To be taxed:
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Products excluded from the ‘sweetened drink’ category would contain at least 75 per cent milk in a ready-to-drink form or as a milk substitute, baby formula, follow-up formula or baby food, beverages consumed for medicinal use and special dietary needs determined as per GCC Standardisation Organisation rules
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Low turnout
Two months before the first round on April 10, the appetite of voters for the election is low.
Mathieu Gallard, account manager with Ipsos, which conducted the most recent poll, said current forecasts suggested only two-thirds were "very likely" to vote in the first round, compared with a 78 per cent turnout in the 2017 presidential elections.
"It depends on how interesting the campaign is on their main concerns," he told The National. "Just now, it's hard to say who, between Macron and the candidates of the right, would be most affected by a low turnout."
The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat & Other Stories From the North
Edited and Introduced by Sjón and Ted Hodgkinson
Pushkin Press
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)