Saudi Arabia’s oil minister Ali Ibrahim Al-Naimi, speaking on Tuesday, February 23, declared that proposed production cuts to the country’s oil supplies will not take place.
Despite this, it is hoped that oil producers will get together in March to negotiate an output freeze.
A week earlier, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela, along with Saudi Arabia, proposed a freeze which would limit production at last month’s levels, with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak stating that the deal should be put in place by March 1.
Al-Naimi commented:
“Freeze is the beginning of a process, and that means if we can get all the major producers to agree not to add additional balance, then this high inventory we have now will probably decline in due time. It’s going to take time.”
He went on to note that a freeze is not the same as cutting production, and that cuts were not about to happen in Saudi Arabia because he expects that few other oil-producing countries would be able to deliver, and this he believed would make the exercise a waste of the Middle Eastern nation’s time.
Al-Naimi also noted that, at present, there is less trust than usual among the world’s oil exporters.
It remains to be seen how this latest move will effect the oil industry, and the big global oil companies like Q8, which manufactures Q8 T750 15W/40, but it is likely to lead to more turbulence and uncertainty, in the short term,at least.
