OpeOluwani Akintayo
with agency report
Lagos — OPEC and its partners are expected to agree on deeper cuts at its next meeting, according to JPMorgan in a note on Tuesday.
According to the release, parties to the cuts will increase from 1.2 million barrels per day to 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) to the end of 2020.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)and partners will meet in Vienna on Thursday and Friday.
OPEC’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia will agree to lower its quota to 10 million bpd from 10.3 million bpd and will press other producers, particularly Iraq, Nigeria and Russia, to improve their compliance with previous commitments, JPMorgan analyst Christyan Malek wrote in the note.
Saudi Arabia requires the deeper cuts in order to support oil prices and maintain them within a “comfort level” range of $60-$70 per barrel which is closer to the kingdom’s fiscal budget break-even level, Malek told Reuters.
Brent futures were trading at $60.53 per barrel at 1310 GMT, down 39 cents.
Saudi Arabia, which recently named Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman as its new oil minister, “is keen to lead by example through increased contribution in order to reflect that it is an imperative to reduce the overhang into 2020,” Malek said.
