Saudi energy minister pushes back UAE opposition to OPEC + deal

DUBAI, July 4 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister on Sunday rejected opposition from his Gulf counterparts, the United Arab Emirates, to a draft OPEC + deal and called for “compromise and rationality” to reach an agreement when the group meets on Monday.

OPEC +, which brings together the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, voted Friday to increase production by around 2 million barrels per day from August to December 2021 and to extend the remaining cuts until the late 2022, but objections from the UAE prevented a deal, sources said. Read more

“Extension is the base and not a side issue,” Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told Saudi TV station Al Arabiya.

“We are looking for a way to balance the interests of producer and consumer countries and the stability of the market in general, especially when shortages are expected due to depletion of stocks,” he added.

The UAE said earlier on Sunday it supported an increase in production from August, but suggested postponing the decision to extend the oil supply pact to another meeting. He said base production benchmarks – the level at which cuts are calculated – should be reviewed for any expansion. Read more

The stalemate could delay plans to pump more oil until the end of the year to cool oil prices which have hit 2.5-year highs.

“Great efforts have been made over the past 14 months which have yielded fantastic results and it would be a shame not to maintain these achievements.… Some compromise and some rationality are what will save us,” the Saudi minister said. Energy.

In response to the destruction of oil demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, OPEC + agreed last year to cut production by nearly 10 million barrels per day from May 2020, with the intends to phase out the restrictions by the end of April 2022. The cuts now amount to around 5.8 million. bpd.

OPEC + sources said the UAE maintains its baseline was initially too low, an issue it had raised previously but was willing to tolerate if the deal ended in April 2022, but not if it lasted longer.

Prince Abdulaziz, who made similar remarks on Saudi Asharq TV, said no country should use a single month as a baseline, adding that there is a mechanism for states to file objections and that ” selectivity is difficult “.

Reporting by Marwa Rashad in London, Ghaida Ghantous in Dubai and Alaa Swilam in Cairo; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Peter Cooney

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