Under the chairmanship of His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy, and His Excellency the Co-Chair, the Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak, with the participation of the ministers of the United Arab Emirates, the Republic of Nigeria, the Republic of Venezuela, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq and Algeria, and the Secretary-General of OPEC, it was held in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, today, the sixteenth meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee to monitor the agreement of reducing production between the member states of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the countries producing from outside it (known as the OPEC+ agreement).
His Excellency, the Secretary General of OPEC, Mohamed Barkindo, welcomed the chairmanship of His Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman for the Joint Ministerial Committee, pointing out that he has represented well the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in OPEC for the past thirty-two years, stressing that His Highness is a brilliant diplomat with real experience in the oil industry.
The Secretary General also praised the pivotal role that the Minister of Energy played in guiding the negotiations for the adoption of several prominent OPEC declarations.
At the conclusion of its meeting, the committee stressed the urgent need to continue commitment to the Declaration of Cooperation, to support sustainable stability in global oil markets, in the interest of producers and consumers alike.
The committee also indicated that compliance levels, with the agreed production adjustments, remained high, reaching 136% in August of 2019.
The committee affirmed the basic principles on which it is based, namely justice, fairness and transparency, and urged all participating countries to intensify their efforts in seeking to achieve full and immediate commitment to the agreed production quantities.
In the press conference held after the meeting, His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy, affirmed the Kingdom's determination to continue reducing oil production by a percentage that exceeds its share specified in the OPEC+ agreement, as the Kingdom’s oil production will reach nine million eight hundred ninety thousand bpd Next October.
Both Nigeria and Iraq announced their intention to reach full commitment to their quotas from the reduction within the next two months.
The member states of the Joint Ministerial Committee agreed on the importance of strengthening cooperation and dialogue, affirmed their commitment to the "Cooperation Charter", which was signed at the sixth ministerial meeting of OPEC members and non-members, on July 2, 2019, considering that it is a unique initiative that represents a platform to facilitate dialogue between the participating countries, aiming to enhance the stability of the global oil market and support cooperation in technical and other fields for the benefit of oil producers, consumers and investors, and the global economy as a whole.
The committee expressed its appreciation for the distinguished arrangements made by the United Arab Emirates for the meeting, and thanked the UAE Minister of Energy Suhail bin Mohamed Al Mazrouei, and the UAE government, for hosting the committee meeting for the second time.
It is worth noting that the previous meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee was held last July in the Austrian capital, Vienna, which resulted as a result in agreeing to extend the production cut, to ensure the continued stability of global oil markets, while the next meeting will held on December 4, at OPEC headquarters in Vienna.
