Saudi Arabia, the biggest member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said no-one should doubt the group’s commitment to providing support as concerns mounted that a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic will hobble demand and an earlier plan to raise output from next year would further depress prices.
OPEC and its allies, including Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, have curbed output since January 2017 to try to support prices and reduce inventories.
“This group has shown, especially in this year, that it has the flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances when required. We will not dodge our responsibilities in this regard,” Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said.
“Nobody in the market should be in any doubt as to our commitment and our intent,” Prince Abdulaziz told the opening of an OPEC+ ministerial monitoring committee (JMMC).
“Demand recovery is uneven... Today this process has slowed down because of a second coronavirus wave, but has not yet fully reversed,” Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told JMMC. Novak previously insisted on easing the cuts.
