Oil market stability improving: OPEC Chief

 Current world oil market conditions, returning confidence and optimism in the industry are all evidence of the positive outcome of Declaration of Cooperation, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo said during the OPEC and non-OPEC Technical Meeting at the OPEC Secretariat on Monday.

Sanusi Barkindo, during the meeting, congratulated all OPEC and non-OPEC participants on the first anniversary of the Declaration of Cooperation.

The meeting is part of the lead up to the 3rd OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting, which will be held at the OPEC headquarters on 30 November. It also follows on the heels of a complementary workshop on tight oil prospects held on 22 November, which examined recent developments and likely prospects for US tight oil.

''Together with our non-OPEC partners, we have co-authored a new chapter in the history of this industry, one that is about cooperation, stability and sustainability. Our work together over the past year has forged new relationships between OPEC and non-OPEC countries which never existed in the past. This has led to new friendships, new opportunities and laid the groundwork for ongoing future cooperation. We can be very proud of what we have achieved working together,'' he noted.

''The decisions we made were historic and mark the first time in the history of the industry that 24 OPEC and non-OPEC producers have joined forces to help contribute to improving oil market stability. I am happy to say that we can now firmly put to rest any suggestions that this process we have started and the Declaration of Cooperation could not be successful,'' he stated.

''Our path towards market stability has seen several bumps along the way, and we have suffered occasional setbacks, but our determination and hard work are paying off. The commitment shown by each and every country participating in the Declaration of Cooperation is unprecedented and most remarkable.

The fact that average conformity to the supply adjustments has been over 100 percent since the implementation of the decision on January 1 of this year not only warms my heart personally, but has led to a new optimism in the oil market not seen for a very long time,'' he added.

After reaching record-high levels of more than 380 million barrels over the five-year average, he continued, OECD commercial oil inventories have steadily fallen to stand 140 million barrels above the five-year average in October. Additionally, excess crude in floating storage has been drawn down considerably, by 50 million barrels since June 2017, supported by the shift in the market structure where for the first time since the summer of 2014, all major crude oil benchmarks have flipped into backwardation, signaling clearly a market that is steadily returning to balance.

The 1st Technical Meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC Producing Countries was held in May 2017. The technical meetings provide an opportunity to enrich and deepen OPEC and non-OPEC work together and to give shape and structure to a framework under which future cooperation and sharing of perspectives will take place.

Source: Wam