OPEC ISN'T A CARTEL

REUTERS - OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said the exporting group was not in the business of fixing oil prices, when asked on Monday to comment on a U.S. House committee passing a bill targeting OPEC oil supply cuts.

A U.S. House of Representatives committee approved a bill on Thursday that would open up the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to antitrust lawsuits, but it was uncertain if the measure would be considered by the full chamber.

"OPEC is neither a cartel nor involved in the business of fixing oil prices," Barkindo told Reuters. "It would be a misjudgment to accuse us of such," he said on the sidelines of an energy forum in Cairo.

OPEC and a group of non-OPEC countries including Russia, an alliance known as OPEC+, are reducing oil output in 2019 to avoid a potential supply glut that could weigh on prices. A similar action in 2017 got rid of an earlier supply glut.

"OPEC is an open, transparent organization focused on assisting the oil markets to remain in balance on a sustainable basis, which is a fundamental requirement of investors," Barkindo said.

"The international oil industry needs market stability to plan and invest in a predictable manner in order to guarantee future supplies."

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Earlier: 

2019, February, 8, 12:10:00 OPEC PRODUCTION DOWN 970 TBD PLATTS - OPEC pumped the fewest barrels since March 2015 in January, with crude output plunging to 30.86 million b/d, a fall of 970,000 b/d from December as new supply quotas went into force, according to an S&P Global Platts survey of industry officials, analysts and shipping data.

2019, February, 1, 11:35:00 OIL MARKET IS CALM PLATTS- Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said Wednesday that he does not currently see a need to take any extra measures or call for an extra meeting by the OPEC/non-OPEC group over the crisis in Venezuela. "We haven't discussed the situation with [Saudi energy] minister Falih, or other ministers," Novak told reporters. "The markets are currently calm ... and the volatility is insignificant. So there is no need for the extra meeting of OPEC+, at least the Russian side thinks so."

2019, January, 21, 11:50:00 OPEC CONFORMITY LEVEL 98% OPEC - The JMMC calls on all participating countries of the ‘Declaration of Cooperation’ to redouble their efforts in the full and timely implementation of the supply adjustments to ensure that the oil market remains in balance in 2019.

2019, January, 18, 10:45:00 OPEC PRODUCTION DOWN 751 TBD REUTERS - The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a monthly report that its oil output fell by 751,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December to 31.58 million bpd, the biggest month-on-month drop in almost two years.

2019, January, 16, 11:20:00 OIL MARKET BALANCE REUTERS - “If we look beyond the noise of weekly data and speculators’ herd-like behavior, I remain convinced that we’re on the right track, and that the oil market will quickly return to balance,” said Falih, addressing an oil conference in Abu Dhabi.

2019, January, 9, 11:15:00 OPEC OIL PRODUCTION DOWN 630 TBD PLATTS - OPEC crude production in December tumbled 630,000 b/d month on month, an S&P Global Platts survey of industry officials, analysts and shipping data showed Tuesday, but the organization still has much more cutting to do to reach its new quotas for 2019.

2019, January, 9, 11:10:00 SAUDI'S OIL PRODUCTION DOWN 400 TBD MEOG - Saudi Arabia reportedly cut its crude production by more than 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) in December 2018. Saudi crude production sat at 10.65 million bpd (mbpd) that month, down from 11.07 mbpd in November.