OPEC and Non-OPEC oil production cuts reach ‘an impressive level’

OPEC and Non-OPEC countries which have participated in voluntary production cuts since late 2016, achieved the highest level of conformity with their respective adjustments in production during the month of November. 

This was revealed by the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) on Thursday, December 21 and based on the report of the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Technical Committee (JTC).

The JMMC was established following OPEC’s 171st Ministerial Conference Decision of November 30, 2016, and the subsequent Declaration of Cooperation made at the joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries’ Ministerial Meeting held on December 10, 2016 at which 11 (now 10) non-OPEC oil producing countries cooperated with the 13 (now 14) OPEC Member Countries in an effort to accelerate the stabilization of the global oil market through voluntary adjustments in total oil production of around 1.8 million barrels per day.

The resulting framework, which came into effect on January 1, 2017, was for six months. The second joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries’ Ministerial Meeting, held on May 25, 2017, decided to extend the voluntary production adjustments for another nine months starting July 1, 2017.

During its third meeting held in Vienna on November 30, 2017, the joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Producing Countries’ Ministers agreed to amend the Declaration of Cooperation so that it will last the entirety of 2018.

According to the JMMC, as of November 2017, the OPEC and participating non-OPEC producing countries achieved an impressive highest conformity level of 122 per cent, following the pattern of high performances in the past months. This, coupled with the amendment of the Declaration of Cooperation, is an unequivocal demonstration of the steadfast commitment of participating countries to continue working towards the achievement of the goal of rebalancing the market and putting it on a sustainable stable footing, the Committee said.

The JMMC expressed satisfaction with the results and sustained level of high conformity with the voluntary production adjustments, and further encouraged all participating countries to achieve full conformity for the benefit of producers and consumers alike.