Kuwait: No Exit From OPEC Cuts

Kuwait’s Oil Minister Bakhit al-Rashidi said on Wednesday there is no plan or intention so far to exit from a production-cutting agreement among OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers. “The production-reduction agreement will remain for a long time and there is no thinking right now to exit it,” Rashidi told a news conference in Kuwait City, Reuters reported. He said a Jan. 21 committee meeting of some OPEC and non-OPEC ministers in Oman would focus on reviewing adherence to the cuts, adding that compliance in December was at 125%. Qatar Energy Minister Mohammed al-Sada said last week, "It is premature to discuss an exit strategy from a global oil supply-cutting pact and supports the continuation of the agreement." The UAE foresees no major changes in OPEC’s policy to result from short-term price fluctuations, UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said. “We hope the whole dynamic will continue throughout 2018,” Iraq said.