Oil producers may not need to extend cuts

Oil producers may not need to roll over a deal to cut production beyond March if all members fully comply with their pledges, the Kuwaiti oil minister said Sunday.

"The current reduction deal is sufficient to achieve the desired purpose," of rebalancing the oil market, Essam al-Marzouk told reporters after opening an oil conference.

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Although "the compliance level to the cuts has reached an unprecedented 116 percent", this was mainly due to the fact that some countries were making higher cuts than pledged.

"Our focus now is centred on making all member states fully comply with the cuts to reach an even better percentage and therefore not need a new extension," Marzouk said.

Marzouk, who heads a joint ministerial committee monitoring compliance, said it was too early to say if a new extension was needed and that "OPEC will take a decision next month".

The oil cartel is holding a key ministerial meeting in Vienna on November 30.

OPEC and non-OPEC producers struck a historic deal a year ago to cut crude output by 1.8 million barrels per day for six months.

The deal was extended by nine months until March. It has boosted oil prices to above $55 a barrel and reduced record high inventory levels.

source: AFP