OPEC+ to Likely Consider Deeper Oil Output Cuts

OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers could impose deeper oil output cuts on Sunday, energy analysts said, as the influential energy alliance weighs the impact of a pending ban on Russia’s crude exports and a possible price cap on Russian oil.
OPEC+, a group of 23 oil-producing nations led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, will convene on Sunday to decide on the next phase of production policy, CNBC reported.
The highly anticipated meeting comes ahead of potentially disruptive sanctions on Russian oil, weakening crude demand in China and mounting fears of a recession.
Claudio Galimberti, vice president for analysis at energy consultancy Rystad, told CNBC from OPEC’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria, that he believes the group “would be better off to stay the course” and roll over existing production policy.
“OPEC+ has been rumored to consider a cut on the basis of demand weakness, specifically in China, over the past few days. Yet, China’s traffic nationwide is not down dramatically,” Galimberti said.
Energy market participants remain wary about the European Union’s sanctions on the purchases of the Kremlin’s seaborne crude exports on Dec. 5, while the prospect of a G7 price cap on Russian oil is another source of uncertainty.
The 27-nation EU bloc agreed in June to ban the purchase of Russian seaborne crude from Dec. 5.