OPEC talks-up markets, markets not interested and Russia woos Iraq, Iran and Libya

摘要

OPEC members, from the Secretary-General downwards, spent much of the month telling the rest of the world how well they were adhering to their promised production cuts, claiming 91% compliance with the agreed 1.2 mn bpd reductions for the month of January. Some of its allies outside the organization were reported as doing rather less well. Russia, for example, which had said it would phase-in its 300,000 bpd reduction, reported a cut of only 118,000 bpd, or 39%. Libya and Nigeria, which were exempted from OPEC s reductions, increased their output by a combined 170,000 bpd. Qatar's Oil Minister, Muhammad al-Sada, put the level of Non-OPEC countries' compliance with their promised cuts of 558,000 bpd at 50%. Equatorial Guinea, which agreed in December to reduce its production by 12,000 bpd in support of OPEC, said it had applied to join the organization. Its output at present is estimated at 200,000 bpd. Most of the attempts to use figures about compliance levels for the promised reductions to talk-up price levels fell on deaf ears as far as international markets were concerned, and crude oil prices changed little throughout February, trending, if anything, slightly downwards.