Saudi Arabia, Iraq Confirm Commitment To OPEC+ Oil Output Cut Deal - Riyadh

DOHA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th July, 2020) Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Salman and his Iraqi counterpart have during a call confirmed the two countries' commitment to the OPEC+ deal on oil output cuts, according to a statement issued by Riyadh on Monday.

"Saudi Arabia and Iraq confirm their full commitment to the OPEC+ agreement. HRH commended Iraq on its performance under the agreement, whereby its conformity in June has approached 90 percent, as reported by the secondary sources," the statement read, as quoted by the Saudi Press Agency.

The Iraqi minister, in his turn, said that the country would improve its results to reach 100 percent compliance by early August and compensate in July, August and September the production surplus of May and June.

"At the end of the call, the two Ministers stressed that efforts by OPEC+ countries towards meeting production cuts, as stated in the agreement, will enhance oil market stability and help accelerate the rebalancing of global oil markets," the statement added.

On April 12, the OPEC+ countries agreed to reduce oil production by 9.7 million barrels per day in May and June, followed by 7.7 million per day for the year's second half, and then 5.8 million per day until April 2022. In early June, the parties agreed to extend the 9.7 million bpd cuts until the end of July. Iraq and Nigeria admitted that they had not managed to achieve full compliance in May and June and vowed to contribute more cuts over the following months.

The oil output cuts for August are expected to be negotiated later this week with a meeting of the Joint Technical Committee being scheduled for Tuesday and the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee for Wednesday.