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The 172nd meeting of OPEC kicked off in Vienna, Austria May 25.
Addressing the event, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih said that the main focus for today remains consolidating, strengthening and accelerating the process of rebalancing, alongside with the important task of drawing down global oil inventories to the 5-year average.
“Nurturing a constructive and stable market environment is our highest priority. This goal is important not only for us but also for consumers, as it ensures a sustainable future for oil supply and demand,” he added.
The minister pointed out that OPEC oil output cut agreement has benefited not only the producers, who are a part of the agreement, but other countries as well.
“The market has seen OPEC’s firm and unwavering resolve along with that of the participating non-OPEC oil producing countries as reflected in the high level of conformity, with reductions exceeding 100 percent of the target in the first four months of the agreement,” said Al-Falih.
Despite potential volatility, the minister said he expects the situation to continue improving assisted by a more robust global economy and higher GDP in 2017, as well as fairly healthy oil demand growth this year, particularly in Asia.
