The National Oil Corporation (NOC) said that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) excluded Libya, Iran, and Venezuela from participating in the reduction of production. This is due to the difficult circumstances these countries are going through.
NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla participated in the ministerial meeting (No. 180) of OPEC last Monday. The ministerial meeting (No. 12) of OPEC+, bringing 10 additional countries to the table, was held on Thursday. The meeting assessed the state of the international oil market in terms of supply, demand, and current stock levels.
During the meeting, the participants agreed to increase their collective output by 500,000 bpd next month and to hold a meeting at the beginning of every month to assess the market and take the appropriate decisions regarding supplies for the following month.
The NOC added, “The meeting welcomed Libya’s resumption of production and affirmed that it would continue to be excluded from the reductions at this stage. This is due to Libya’s urgent need to increase production rates and overcome its economic problems.”
OPEC+, which includes 23 countries, had previously decided to reduce oil supplies by 9.7 million bpd in May 2020. The reduction was revised to 7.7 million bpd in August 2020, which was further amended to 5.7 million bpd beginning in January 2021. It was then agreed to gradually increase supplies to maintain the stability of the oil market, according to the statement issued by the organisation.