No Changes To Plans Under Deal On Oil Production Cuts Discussed At OPEC+ Meeting - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th October, 2020) The OPEC+ Monday meeting did not touch upon any potential changes to the current agreement on oil production cuts, although the alliance could change course, Bloomberg reports.

On Monday, OPEC+ energy ministers met to discuss compliance with the agreed quotas of oil production cuts amid the looming second wave of COVID-19 and lackluster energy prices.

The OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) did not discuss if OPEC+ should press on with plans to taper output cuts next year, Bloomberg reported on Monday citing unanimous delegates, but the committee could change course if needed.

A source in one of the OPEC+ delegations told Sputnik on Monday that Saudi Arabia had invited other members of the oil output freeze agreement to consider increasing production in early 2021, but there is no consensus on the issue because of uncertainty over the demand.

According to the source, some of the countries asked the OPEC+ monitoring committee to take into account risks that are posed by the coronavirus pandemic when discussing quotas.

The next meeting of the JMMC has been scheduled for November 17, while the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) will meet on November 16, OPEC said on Monday.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster on Monday that the upcoming meeting would focus on the situation in the coming months.

According to Novak, the JMMC has agreed to continue to implement the oil production cut agreement in full.

According to OPEC+, compliance with oil production cuts of 102 percent in September was the highest since May, as the previously underperforming parties to the deal further reduced production by 249,000 barrels per day. The JMMC urged all participants to achieve full compliance and compensate for previous shortfalls under plans through December.