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OPEC+ meets to review compliance with oil cuts

OPEC oil producers and allies such as Russia, a grouping dubbed OPEC+, will on Wednesday meet to review compliance with oil cuts meant to support oil prices amid the coronavirus pandemic.

OPEC+ is unlikely to change its output policy, which currently calls for reducing output by 7.7 million barrels per day (bpd) versus a record high 9.7 million bpd up until this month, according to OPEC+ sources.

They said the meeting instead would focus on compliance by countries such as Iraq, Nigeria and Kazakhstan.

Compliance with the cuts was seen at 95 per cent to 97 per cent in July, according to OPEC+ sources and a draft report seen by Reuters on Monday.

That is high by OPEC standards.

In July, top exporter Saudi Arabia was still pumping below its target and Iraq and Nigeria, while lagging behind the Gulf OPEC members on compliance, were pumping less than in previous months, according to a Reuter’s survey and other assessments.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz spoke to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday and stressed the importance of compliance by all participants, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

Brent crude LCOc1 has been trading near a 5-month high above 45 dollars a barrel and has more than doubled since hitting a 21-year low below 16 dollars in April, helped in part by the OPEC+ deal. (Reuters/NAN)