London, Moscow (Archyde.com)
Three sources in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries told Archyde.com on Monday that the meeting of the “OPEC +” group today, Tuesday, is expected to confirm commitment to its plans to increase production in February, in light of its expectation that the “Omicron” variant of the Corona virus will have an impact. Slight and short term on demand. The “OPEC +” group, consisting of members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies led by Russia, is gradually reducing the record production cuts agreed upon in 2020 to counter the collapse in demand due to the “pandemic.” In line with current plans, the group is working to increase the production target for February by 400,000 barrels per day, as it has done on a monthly basis since mid-2021. In a technical report seen by “Archyde.com” on Sunday, the group downplayed the impact of the mutant “Omicron” on the market. oil.
The report of the joint technical committee of the “OPEC +” group said: “The impact of the new omicron is expected to be mild and short-term, with the improvement of the global ability to address Covid-19 and the challenges associated with it.”
“This is in addition to the strong economic outlook in both advanced and emerging economies,” he added.
While the group sought to raise the ceiling of its goals, production did not increase at the same pace, as some members faced difficulties in raising the level of their production capabilities.
The International Energy Agency said last month that the OPEC + producing countries failed to achieve their production targets by 650,000 barrels per day in November and 730,000 barrels per day in October. According to the commission’s report’s basic hypothetical chart, OECD countries’ commercial oil stocks in 2022 will remain below the 2015-2019 average in the first three quarters before rising 24 million barrels above that average in the fourth quarter.
In addition, oil fell below $ 78 a barrel on Monday, with the “OPEC +” group apparently preparing to agree to another increase in oil production, and concern continued over the impact of the escalation of Corona virus infections on demand, despite hopes for an additional recovery during 2022.
The mutated “Omicron” strain of the Corona virus has caused record numbers of infections and reduced New Year’s celebrations around the world. More than 4,000 flights were canceled on Sunday. Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell 42 cents, or 0.5%, to $77.36 a barrel by 1402 GMT, following rising earlier to $79.05. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures also fell 52 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $ 74.69 a barrel. Oil gained some support earlier in the session due to production cuts in Libya. On Saturday, Libya’s state oil company said the country’s oil production would drop by 200,000 barrels per day for a week due to maintenance of a major pipeline between the Samah and Dahra fields.
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