OPEC+ delegates said they expect an advisory panel of ministers to recommend keeping oil production levels unchanged when they meet next week amid an initial recovery in global demand, according to a report.bloomberg.
The agency says that Saudi Arabia will conduct, with its partners, a review of production levels on the first of February, following agreeing to significant cuts late last year to maintain the balance of global crude markets.
Bloomberg quoted delegates from the group in private conversations that they expect the committee of ministers to maintain the status quo, as they wait for more clarity on the recovery of consumption in China and the impact of sanctions on Russian supply.
Global oil prices have soared in the past two weeks, approaching $90 a barrel as China – the world’s largest oil importer – abandoned nearly three years of strict anti-Covid restrictions.
However, the recovery path remains uncertain as the country faces a resurgence of virus cases, prompting the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies to remain conservative.
Meanwhile, OPEC Plus is waiting to see the full impact of EU sanctions on member Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The measures targeting Moscow’s crude oil sales took effect in December.
OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al-Ghais said earlier this month that he is “cautiously optimistic” regarding the global economy as the recovery emerging in China is dampened by weakness in advanced economies.