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OPEC begins meeting on extending output accord

OPEC begins meeting on extending output accord
OPEC begins meeting on extending output accord

By Abdulwahab El-Gueyed

VIENNA, May 25 (KUNA) -- OPEC's oil ministers started on Thursday scheduled meeting primarily aimed at discussing extension of the November deal on cutting the crude output.
Insiders told KUNA that expectations were high that the conferees would agree on extending the accord till March 2019, beside monitoring output of the American shale oil.
It is necessary that the OPEC and non-OPEC producers "send a clear message to the market to beef up its stability," according to an analyst.
Today's meeting comes on the heels of a session by the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), which called for extending the agreement of cutting oil output for another nine months.
Kuwait's Minister of Oil and Minister of Electricity and Water Essam Al-Marzouq said the commission made progress regarding global oil markets.
Furthermore, the technical committee has stressed that it, supported by OPEC secretary, will continue to provide its monthly evaluation to concerned bodies.
The JMMC was founded following OPEC's 171st Ministerial Conference Decision of November 30, 2016 and the subsequent Declaration of Cooperation made at the joint OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting held on December 10, 2016.
During the December meeting, 11 non-OPEC oil producers cooperated with the 13 OPEC member states in a concerted effort to accelerate the rebalancing of the global oil market through an adjustment in combined production of 1.8 million barrels per day.
The declaration, which came into effect on January 1, 2017, is for six months.
The JMMC is tasked with ensuring that the objectives of OPEC's 171st Ministerial Conference Decision and the Declaration of Cooperation are achieved through successful implementation of voluntary adjustments in production. (Pickup previous) amq.rk