Oil producers from OPEC and beyond are finalizing a plan to discuss freezing output at a meeting in Qatar in mid-April, the latest move in a campaign by financially-stricken countries to shift the dynamics of an over-supplied crude market.
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Producers both from and outside OPEC will hold talks in the capital Doha on April 17, Qatari oil minister Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada said.
“Crude oil output decreased mostly from Iraq, Nigeria and [United Arab Emirates], while production increased in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait”, the report noted.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has trimmed its oil demand outlook for 2016, revising last month’s estimate down by 90,000 barrels per day (BPD) to 31.52 million barrels per day (MMBPD). Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a 3.4 million-barrel gain.
“What I fear is that any breakdowns in the proposed talks, if there even is a meeting, will drag oil prices through the mud again”, he said.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 77 cents and traded at $38.76 per barrel, while the U.S. crude futures CLc1 were 77 cents lower and traded at $36.41 a barrel, Reuters reported.
Brent for May settlement declined as much as 39 cents to $39.14 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange and was at $39.19 at 1.13pm Hong Kong time.
Oil rose after prices dropped about 2pc the previous session.
World oil prices sank for a second straight day Tuesday as hopes faded that major crude producers would freeze output levels to ease a world surplus.
And analysts warned that a recent bull-run during which crude markets jumped more than 40% from multiyear lows earlier this year was overblown and largely driven by speculative traders buying crude from producers who were selling it as a financial hedge.
Qatar holds the rotating presidency of OPEC and said it backs efforts to coordinate between OPEC and non-OPEC members to ensure oil market stability.
A plunge in oil prices since the summer of 2014 is straining the budgets of major oil producers.
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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has forecasted that his country’s oil exports in the new Iranian calendar year (starts March 21) will reach two million barrels per day.
