Russia is meeting its obligations under the OPEC/non-OPEC crude production agreement, and participants remain committed to the arrangement, despite ongoing uncertainty over world energy market developments.

OPEC is due to meet in June, where the Iran question will no doubt be raised. But oil and gas leaders are taking a cautious approach, with Kuwait's oil minister Khaled Al Fadhel noting that a decision would be taken only after a review of oil prices.

Asked whether Iran’s oil could be removed from the market, Mr. Barkindo said: “No repetition is needed. Eliminating Iran from the oil market is impossible.”

China's crude oil imports from Iran, the March volume rose 6.2% from February on a barrels-per-day basis, despite dropping by a quarter from the same month of last year.

"Not extending the oil waivers of some countries is another side of the US measures against Iran. But if Iran's oil is fully sanctioned, oil price will go higher than $100 per barrel,"

Iran’s economy shrank by 3.9 percent last year, according to IMF estimates, and is expected to shrink by 6 percent in 2019, Jihad Azour, director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia department, told Reuters adding, however, that the projection preceded the latest elimination of waivers.

The International Energy Agency is monitoring developments in global oil markets, and notes that markets are now adequately supplied, and that global spare production capacity remains at comfortable levels.

OPEC is due to meet in June, where the Iran question will no doubt be raised. But oil and gas leaders are taking a cautious approach, with Kuwait's oil minister Khaled Al Fadhel noting that a decision would be taken only after a review of oil prices.

the risk of oil prices heading well above $70/b to the oil market and the global economy, while also saying that if prices were too low it would hit investment in the industry and key oil producing countries.

China is resolutely opposed to the United States enforcing unilateral sanctions or “long armed jurisdiction”, Geng Shuang, a ministry spokesman, told a daily news briefing.

Oil futures settled at fresh six-month highs Monday as the market looked at an increasingly tight global supply picture in light of the White House decision. ICE June Brent settled up $2.07/b at $74.04/b, and NYMEX May WTI settled $1.70/b higher at $65.70/b. Monday marked the highest front-month settle for both contracts since late October, just before the US sanctions snapped back.

The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), a multilateral development financial institution, forecast in its MENA Annual Energy Investment Outlook 2019 that current and planned energy investments in the region add up to $1trn for the next five years.

Green hydrogen can in principle be shipped around the world to places that are less well endowed with cheap renewable energy sources.

"Cooperation will continue between Russia and Saudi Arabia," Ibrahim al-Muhanna said at the International Oil Summit in Paris, stressing that "it is the core of OPEC+ cooperation."

Boosting heavy crude output is a major part of the country's 2040 oil production strategy. Kuwait plans to increase overall oil production capacity to 4.75mbpd by 2040, up from its current capacity of 3.15mbpd.