Delegates of OPEC and other oil producers including Russia — together known as OPEC+ — have been in a “joint technical committee” meeting in Vienna this week to discuss cutting production, amid fears of the coronavirus situation in oil consumer China affecting the market. As the world’s leading importer and consumer of oil, China is a key player in the market. OPEC and its allies in December extended an existing agreement to curb crude oil production to prop up prices. The joint technical committee “recommended extending until the end of 2020 the current production reduction agreement… and proceeding with an additional reduction in production until the end of the second quarter of 2020,” Arkab said. The US benchmark oil contract, WTI, has fallen by around 18 percent over the past month.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 08, 2020 15:56 UTC