By El-Gueyed Abdelwaheb
VIENNA, Nov 30 (KUNA) -- Kuwait's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of Oil Anas Al-Saleh hailed as "historic" the decision made by representative of the OPEC member states earlier Wednesday to end the glut on the global oil market.
"The decision to cut the oil production by 1.2 million barrels a day starting from January, 2017, will definitely have a positive impact on the market," he said in statements to KUNA ahead of leaving here for home.
"The agreement to bring down the OPEC production to the level of 32.5 million bpd will benefit all oil exporters, whether OPEC members or non-members; it is in keeping with the consensus reached during the OPEC meeting in Algeria in last September," Al-Saleh pointed out.
"This step will accelerate the efforts to end the glut in oil supply, thus restoring equilibrium to the market.
"Today's meeting led also to an agreement to forum a ministerial panel, chaired by Kuwait and including Algeria and Venezuela, to oversee commitment to decision," he said, excepting that all producers will welcome the decision.
Al-Saleh added that the OPEC continues to coordinate steps with non-OPEC producers with a view to maintaining balance on the global oil market.
Meanwhile, Saudi Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khaled Abdulaziz Al-Falih said the non-OPEC members agreed to contribute to the success of today's decision by cutting their own output by 600,000 bpd.
"Russia, for example, is expected to announce soon a decision to reduce its own production by 300,000 bpd," Al-Falih said in similar statements to KUNA. He stressed the need of strict commitment by the oil producers to the decision, noting that the reduction of OPEC production by 1.2 million bpd and the non-OPEC production by 600,000 bpd will send an upbeat message to investors in the oil industry.
"It is important to maintain a sound atmosphere for investment in this industry in order to ensure balance between supply and demand on the global market. This is why the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia worked hard to bring the views of all major producers close to each other," Al-Falih went on.
The Saudi minister commended the wisdom of the participants in today's meeting which led to this "historic agreement." On a similar note, Mohammad bin Saleh Al-Sada, Qatar's Minister of Energy and Industry and President of the OPEC Conference, hailed "the great cooperation" shown by the OPEC members in reaching this historic agreement.
"Today's decision proved once again that OPEC is keen on serving the interests of both oil exporters and importers in a balanced and responsible way," he stated.
"The participants in the meeting agreed on all steps that could ensure the success of the decision," Al-Sada said, noting that OPEC has the necessary mechanisms to oversee the commitment to its decisions.
He added that the decision added an institutional feature to cooperation with the non-OPEC oil producers and highlighted the need of their contribution to OPEC efforts to stabilize the world oil outlook.
The 171st Meeting of the OPEC Conference, presided over by Al-Sada, decided that the next Ordinary Meeting will convene in Vienna, Austria, on Thursday, May 25, 2017. (end) amg.gb