U.A.E.: OIL OVERSUPPLY

Oversupply in crude markets could take months or even years to fix depending on when producers outside OPEC cut their output, Abu Dhabi-based The National reported, citing comments by U.A.E. Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei.

"We are experiencing an obvious oversupply in the market that needs time to be absorbed," the newspaper reported Mazrouei as saying in e-mailed comments. The United Arab Emirates supported the November decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to maintain production, The National reported Mazrouei as saying.

Brent crude, a pricing benchmark for more than half of the world's oil, tumbled 48 percent last year, the most since 2008. OPEC decided Nov. 27 to maintain production instead of cutting output to eliminate a surplus left by increased supplies from the U.S. to Russia.

"Depending on the actual production growth from non-OPEC countries, this problem could take months or even years," the U.A.E.'s Mazrouei was quoted as saying in The National, referring to oversupply. "If they act rationally, we can see positive corrections during 2015."

Saudi Arabia won't cut its output, though producers outside the group are welcome to do so, Ali Al-Naimi, that country's oil minister, said at a conference in Abu Dhabi Dec. 21. OPEC would find it "difficult, if not impossible" to give up part of its share in global oil markets by cutting output, he said Dec. 19.

oilandgaseurasia.com