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MOSCOW, September 18 – Saudi Arabia’s energy minister yesterday warned traders against heavy bets in the oil market saying he will try to make the market “nervous” and vowed that those who bet on the price of oil they would be “hurt as hell.”
The comments by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, OPEC’s most influential minister, came after a virtual meeting of a key panel of OPEC and its allies, led by Russia, known as OPEC +.
Prince Abdulaziz said at the meeting that OPEC + could hold an extraordinary meeting in October if the oil market deteriorates due to weak demand and rising coronavirus cases, according to an OPEC + source.
“Anyone who thinks that I’ll get a word from me about what we’re going to do next is absolutely living in La La Land … I’m going to make sure whoever plays in this market will be crying like hell,” Prince Abdulaziz said. he said at a press conference when asked about OPEC + ‘s next steps.
He said that OPEC + would take a proactive and preventive stance to address the challenges of the oil market.
For those who want to short the oil market, Prince Abdulaziz warned: “Brighten my day,” he said in an apparent reference to the expression of Hollywood star Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry neo-noir thriller.
Brent oil prices extended their gains to trade up 3 percent on the news of a possible extraordinary meeting, above 43 US dollars (RM 117.49) a barrel.
Yesterday, the key OPEC + panel, known as the joint ministerial monitoring committee, pushed for better compliance with oil production cuts amid falling crude prices as uncertainty over the economic outlook reigns. world.
The group warned that rising Covid-19 cases in some countries could dampen energy demand despite initial signs of a decline in oil stocks.
The panel did not recommend any change from its current production reduction target of 7.7 million barrels per day (bpd), or about 8 percent of world demand.
OPEC + has been cutting production since January 2017 to help maintain prices and reduce global oil reserves. They increased their cuts to a record 9.7 million bpd from May to July after demand plummeted due to the coronavirus crisis.
The panel pressured laggards like Iraq, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates to cut more barrels to make up for overproduction in May-July while extending the compensation period from September to late December.
The panel said that cumulative overproduction has reached 2.38 million bpd from May through August. – Reuters
