Saudi Arabia cuts more than promised

Though concerns linger about the implementation of the oil production cut deal reached last year, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait sent strong positive signals on Thursday, announcing they were cutting more than they had committed to.

Saudi Arabia’s output was below 10 million bopd in mid-January, slightly lower than <a href=”https://theenergyyear.com/news/<a href=’https://theenergyyear.com/companies-institutions/opec/’>opec-reaches-oil-output-deal/”>stipulated in the November 30 deal, the country’s Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al Falih told journalists, adding that the government was considering further cuts next month.

Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam Al Marzouq made a similar announcement without specifying figures.

“We have already cut our production to more than what we have committed,” he told Reuters, adding that so far there has been some 60% compliance by oil-producing nations with the quotas specified in the deal.

Analysts, who have long worried about the implementation of the agreement, said such a level of compliance might be enough for the deal to be considered a success.

“Normally for OPEC, good compliance is near 80 percent,” an anonymous OPEC delegate told Reuters. “It won’t be 100 percent.”