Vienna: Oil producing coalition OPEC+ on Thursday held its 38th ministerial meeting virtually to examine oil output policies in the shadow of the latest energy market developments. Ahead of the meeting, the 57th session of the joint ministerial oversight committee was held to discuss market conditions and submit recommendations to the ministerial meeting that comprises oil producing member states of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) plus non-OPEC producers. The meetings have been held amid dramatic instability in the market largely due to Middle East political jitters and echoes of the Ukraine war.
According to Kuwait News Agency, Heinz Gartner, a professor at Vienna University, stated that some of the major challenges facing the energy market at present are inflation and mounting energy costs. OPEC+ is exerting substantial efforts to restore market stability, he mentioned, alluding to the recent record rise of the crude price for more than 90 dollars per barrel. Demand with the onset
of winter is forecast to turn bullish, he added, also referring to other factors such as rising demand from major industrial powers, India and China.
The coalition’s output reached 40.34 million barrels per day in October, according to OPEC+ statistics. The ministerial meeting is expected to discuss prospects of amending the output strategies to cope with the economic and market developments.