OPEC+ considers deepening oil production cuts - report
If approved, it would take the total volume of reductions to 4.66 million bpd, which amounts to around 4.5 percent of global demand
OPEC and its allies could deepen oil production cuts by as much as 1 million barrels per day, media learned on Friday.
Three sources told Reuters about the possible cuts as oil prices fell towards $70 per barrel. They said the move was being discussed among options for Sunday, when OPEC+ ministers gather in Vienna, Austria. Before then, OPEC ministers will meet on Saturday, the sources added.
OPEC+ pumps around 40 percent of the world's crude and its policy decisions have a major impact on oil prices. The sources said that cuts could amount to 1 million bpd on top of existing cuts of 2 million bpd and voluntary cuts of 1.6 million bpd that was announced earlier in April.
If approved, it would take the total volume of reductions to 4.66 million bpd, which amounts to around 4.5 percent of global demand.
"We will never hesitate to take any decision to achieve more balance and stability (on) the global oil market," Iraq's Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani said on arriving in Vienna.
Last week, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz said investors who were shorting the oil price should "watch out." This statement was largely interpreted as a warning of additional supply cuts.