“We’re close to a deal between OPEC producer countries and non-OPEC”, Maduro said at a news conference, referring to a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of a summit in Venezuela for the Non-Aligned Movement. Maduro’s comments supported crude oil prices in Asian markets during early trade on September 19, 2016.
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“Some form of cooperation and coordination on oil production between Venezuela and Russian Federation are positive at least for market psychology – that’s why the price went up”.
Venezuela’s Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino said on Monday that global oil supply needs to decrease by a tenth to match consumption.
Global benchmark Brent crude oil futures were trading at $45.80 per barrel at 0048 GMT, down 15 cents from their last close. WTI prices that have held above $40 a barrel since the start of August have supported the growth in the number of US rigs.
During a visit to Algiers at the weekend, OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said an extraordinary meeting could happen if there is consensus. OPEC members and Russian Federation failed to agree at a meeting in Doha in April to limit production after Iran declined to attend and Saudi Arabia refused to proceed without all of the OPEC states participating.
“The informal gathering was proposed as a move to having an extraordinary meeting with the aim of taking decisions to stabilise the market”, he said.
Oil traders are closely monitoring the situation in the north African country, where current production stands at about 300,000 barrels per day. “That is already a positive”, Bouterfa said.
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Crude exports from No.3 OPEC producer Iran in August jumped 15 percent from a month ago to more than 2 million barrels per day, according to a source with knowledge of its tanker loading schedule, closing in on Tehran’s pre-sanctions shipment levels of five years ago. Today will see the American Petroleum Institute release its forecast and the Energy Information Administration will issue official data Wednesday.
