Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on Sunday voiced neutrality towards the OPEC+ meeting scheduled for July 5 but reaffirmed that the Kingdom’s leadership and major sacrifices in making voluntary oil production cuts had helped market recovery.
“I’ve been attending OPEC+ meetings for 34 years and have never seen such a demand; I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic about the upcoming OPEC + meeting,” Prince Abdulaziz told Al Arabiya.
“The extension of the OPEC+ agreement is the basis,” he noted, adding that increasing production was the secondary issue.
Recognizing that uncertainty still plagues the global oil market, Prince Abdulaziz reaffirmed the need to secure long-term messaging by oil producers to the market.
He asserted that Saudi Arabia, as the leader of OPEC+, continues to show balance and concern for the interests of everyone else.
“I represent a balanced country that considers the interests of all in its role as president of OPEC+,” said Prince Abdulaziz.
He said that no country could take its production level in one month as a reference, stressing that there is a mechanism for grievances in OPEC +, but selectivity is difficult.
Prince Abdulaziz added that “a bit of rationality and a bit of compromise saves OPEC+.”
“We have made fantastic achievements in 14 months, and it is shameful for us not to maintain them,” he added.
“If any country has reservations, why keep silent about them previously? Agreement exists between (OPEC+) countries, except for one country,” he noted.
While OPEC+ countries broadly agree to add 400,000 BPD monthly until the end of 2021, the UAE did not agree due to the base point of reference for production quotas.
