OPEC+ remains positive on global oil demand before evaluating production cuts

(Bloomberg) – OPEC+ still has a positive outlook for growth in oil demand, despite the headwinds faced by the global economy, as it prepares for its next ministerial meeting.

“The economy, despite the challenges, is still doing quite well,” OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al-Ghais said at the Argus European Crude Conference in London on Tuesday. “We are positive on demand, we’re still quite robust on demand.”

The top official at OPEC+ said he couldn’t preempt the outcome of the group’s next ministerial meeting in the final weekend of November.

“All I can say for now is we continue to monitor supply and demand fundamentals on a daily basis,” Al-Ghais said. “When the ministers meeting in Vienna at the end of this month they will review all of this and take appropriate measures.”

The next OPEC+ meeting could see Russia and Saudi Arabia decide whether to continue their extra voluntary production curbs into 2024. On Sunday, Riyadh and Moscow announced that they will both stick with production reductions totaling roughly 1.3 MMbpd in December, rubber-stamping a plan outlined a couple of months ago. Those curbs are in addition to cuts agreed by the rest of the group, which last until the end of next year.

“I think the U.S. economy is doing very well. Europe may be struggling a bit,” Al-Ghais said. “We’re still talking about the Chinese economy growing by over 4.5% to 5%” and overall global oil demand continues to rise significantly, he said.