Kuwait rules out OPEC action

TOKYO, May 12, 2016 – Acting Kuwait Oil Minister Anas Al Saleh on Thursday said the upcoming June 2 OPEC gathering in Vienna, Austria, is unlikely to produce tangible results in the quest for oil market rebalancing. Speaking in Japan, Al Saleh said “the focus of the meeting will be to think and look around […] about what could be done to further stabilise the markets.”

Since the failed April 17 Doha talks between OPEC and non-OPEC members, the organisation’s ability to effectively contribute to correcting the current supply-demand imbalance has been called into question. In comments released on Tuesday, the president of Russian oil major Rosneft, Igor Sechin, said OPEC had “practically stopped existing as a united organisation.”

“The expectation is to have more dialogue between OPEC members, and then from that we will be able to determine what would be the proper action going forward,” Al Saleh said, adding that recent oil price gains had begun reflecting “the fall of production.”

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