OPEC EXTENDS CORRECTIONS

 OPEC - OPEC 176th Meeting concludes No 6/2019

Vienna, Austria

01 Jul 2019

The 176th Meeting of the Conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was held in Vienna, Austria, on Monday, 01 July 2019, under the Chairmanship of its President, HE Manuel Salvador Quevedo Fernandez, People's Minister of Petroleum of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Head of its Delegation.

The Conference welcomed new ministers: HE Mohamed Arkab, Algeria's Minister of Energy; HE Noël Mboumba, Gabon's Minister of Oil, Gas and Hydrocarbons; and HE Dr. Khaled Ali Al-Fadhel, Kuwait's Minister of Oil, Minister of Electricity & Water, Chairman of the Board – Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).

The Conference also thanked their predecessors in office: HE Mustapha Guitouni from Algeria; HE Pascal Houangni Ambouroue from Gabon; and HE Bakheet S. Al-Rashidi from Kuwait.

The Conference reviewed the Secretary General's report, the report and recommendations made by the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), whose work was supported by the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) and the OPEC Secretariat, the report of the Economic Commission Board, as well as various administrative matters.

The Conference took note of oil market developments since it last met in Vienna on 06/07 December 2018, and reviewed the oil market outlook for the remainder of 2019 and into 2020. It was noted that economic bearishness is now increasingly prevalent, with major challenges and mounting uncertainties related to ongoing trade negotiations, monetary policy developments, as well as geopolitical issues.

It was also observed that oil demand growth for 2019 has been revised down since the last meeting of the Conference to now stand at 1.14 million barrels a day (mb/d), and non-OPEC supply in 2019 is expected to grow at a robust pace of 2.14 mb/d, year-on-year.

The Conference observed the potential consequences of these developments on global inventory levels, as well as overall market and industry sentiment.

In view of the current fundamentals and the consensus view on the outlook for the remainder of 2019, the Conference decided to extend the voluntary production adjustments agreed at the 175th Meeting of the OPEC Conference for an additional period of nine months from 01 July 2019 to 31 March 2020.

With this decision, Member Countries confirmed their continued focus on fundamentals and commitment to a stable and balanced oil market, in the interests of producers, consumers, and the health of the global economy.

The Conference recognized the recent record high conformity levels to the voluntary production adjustments by all participating countries in the 'Declaration of Cooperation'. It also noted that it remains vital that each participating country takes full responsibility for its own adjustments.

The JMMC was requested to vigilantly monitor the timely and fair implementation of the extension of the production adjustments, as well as oil market developments, and report back to the President of the Conference on a regular basis.

The Conference acknowledged the crucial role played by participating non-OPEC countries in the 'Declaration of Cooperation'. In this regard, it stressed the significance of the 6th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting that will take place on 02 July 2019.

The Conference approved the draft text of the Charter of Cooperation and requests Member Countries to take it through their respective national process.

The Conference renewed the term of office of Mr Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo as Secretary General for a further period of three years, in line with Article 28A of the OPEC Statute, with effect from 1 August 2019.

The Conference resolved that its next Ordinary Meeting will convene in Vienna, Austria, on 05 December 2019.

The Conference expressed its continued gratitude to the Government and to the people of the Republic of Austria, as well as the authorities of the City of Vienna, for their warm hospitality and excellent arrangements for the Meeting.

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