The cartel warns that it will monitor the evolution of the market after the agreement to cap the price of Russian crude
The OPEC countries together with their partners, led by Russia, have agreed today to maintain the sharp cut in oil production agreed last October and reiterated their willingness to “meet at any time to take immediate additional measures”, given the evolution From the market.
The so-called OPEC+ alliance, made up of 23 producing countries, agreed last October to cut two million barrels per day in order to stop the fall in oil prices due to the economic slowdown and the risk of recession. However, after a slight rebound, crude oil has fallen back to $85 per barrel.
In addition, the price of oil will be conditioned from now on by the decision agreed by the European Union, the G-7 and Australia to impose a ceiling of 60 dollars per barrel for crude oil from Russia, a measure that coincides with the entry into force tomorrow of the EU embargo on imports of Russian crude oil arriving by sea. The veto will affect 90% of European imports, that is, about 100 million tons or 730 million barrels per year, according to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Without mentioning these restrictions, against which the Kremlin has lashed out harshly, the OPEC+ Energy and Oil ministers issued a statement at the end of the meeting in which they limited themselves to pointing out their intention to remain vigilant in order to act if necessary. necessary.
In their final statement, the ministers stressed that the controversial supply reduction that came into force on November 1 “was driven purely by market considerations.” “In hindsight, market participants recognized it as the necessary and correct measure to stabilize global oil markets,” they added.
