According to a latest report, the United Arab Emirates foresees a ‘correction’ in crude prices by the end of the year, and the OPEC member has yet to receive an invitation to a possible meeting of oil-producing nations seeking to rein in a global supply glut, Energy Minister Suhail al Mazrouei said to a news agency.
Markets are poised to re-balance as many oil-producing assets outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries lose money at current prices, Mazrouei told reporters on Monday in Abu Dhabi. Declining output at fields that need higher prices to break even is ‘good news’ that points toward a more stable market, he said.
“I’m still optimistic that at the end of the year or before the end of the year we will see some correction. We need to be patient. It’s not happening in weeks or months. Correcting to a sustainable price will take time,” Mazrouei quoted by the agency.
Three OPEC members intend to meet with other producers in Russia on March 20 to renew talks on an agreement to cap oil output, Nigeria’s Petroleum Minister said last week. Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela agreed on February 16 in Doha that they would freeze production, if other producers followed suit, in an effort to tackle oversupply.
Benchmark Brent crude prices dropped 33 per cent in the last year as OPEC boosted output in a fight for market share with higher-cost producers. There have been few additional details on the producers’ meeting since Emmanuel Kachikwu, Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, announced it on March 3.
“I did not receive an invitation,” Mazrouei said. “If they send us an invitation and there is logic, of course the UAE and everyone will participate.”