Nigeria to Maintain Crude Output As Opec Extends Crude Cut

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Brent crude fell.60 to.36 a barrel on Thursday and was trading at.47 on Friday morning while the West Texas Intermediate slipped.58 to.78 a barrel and had reached.82 on Friday.

"All indications are solid that a nine-month extension is the optimum, and should bring us to within the five-year average of inventories by the end of the year".

Malaysia has pledged to cut its oil production by 20,000 barrels per day following a decision by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The alliance is extending its 1.8 million barrel per day supply cut, equivalent to about 2% of global oil production, until the first-quarter of 2018.

The deal agreed a year ago saw the group's member countries reduce production by 1.2 million barrels a day to 32.5 million barrels, effective from January, and it has succeeded in pushing prices back above the $50 benchmark. Some investors seem to have expected a longer extension.

Following the meeting, Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih lauded OPEC's consensus over the output cut. The day's volumes of 1.1 million contracts of WTI were the highest since the November 30 session, when OPEC first announced cuts.

Tehran attacks that killed 12 claimed by Islamic State
It marks the first attack in Iran claimed by the extremist group, which is at war with Iranian-backed forces in Syria and Iraq . Police helicopters circled over the parliament building and all mobile phone lines from inside were disconnected.

Goldman Sachs warned that the biggest risk to oil markets was what would happen next year, at the end of the OPEC-led production cut.

This would force refiners to start using up reserves, pushing up prices at least until production catches back up with consumption.

Crude prices were on the defensive on Friday after an agreement by oil cartel Opec to extend existing supply curbs disappointed investors wagering on larger cuts, prompting a move away from riskier assets and depressing Asian stocks.

Will OPEC look to Nigeria for output cuts?

With technological advances in the past few years making USA shale oil profitable a much lower levels, the united OPEC-Russia front is feeling the squeeze, said Daniel Yergin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and leading oil analyst.

"There seems to be a little resistance on the price at $55bbl, but if OPEC members and a selection of non-OPEC members - notably Russian Federation - abide by the supply cut, the price could conceivably hit $60/bbl by year end", said Cantor Fitzgerald Europe's Sam Wahab.

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