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BAGHDAD, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Iraq said on Wednesday OPEC+ would keep its output cuts policy unchanged at a March meeting, but that Saudi Arabia would likely abandon voluntary production cuts of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) after that as oil prices rally.
Iraqi Oil Minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said he anticipated an oil price of $58 to $63 in 2021. The minister spoke at a news briefing in Baghdad.
Abdul Jabbar said he hoped Saudi Aramco might get a share in a deal to develop Iraq’s Akkas gas field.
He said a consortium led by oilfield services provider Schlumberger was now the front-runner to win that project and that Iraq intended to cancel an agreement over Akkas with South Korea’s KOGAS in the coming months.
The Saudi Arabian stock market ended higher on Tuesday, amid rising oil prices as the focus returned to a tighter market, while the Abu Dhabi index retreated, hit by First Abu Dhabi Bank which went ex-dividend.
Gas prices soaring and could go even higher by spring: Analyst my9nj.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from my9nj.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
This week's surprise decision by Saudi Arabia and other top oil producers to broadly stick with output cuts despite rising crude prices was influenced by events in an unexpected place - Italy.
Pump prices are increasing as refinery utilization is at an all-time low and crude oil prices surged by more than $2/bbl to $66/bbl on Friday, the highest price in nearly two years, AAA spokeswoman Kathleen Zinszer said Monday.
Zinszer added that the jump in prices came after a surprise decision by OPEC to minimally increase production in April. Everybody was expecting OPEC to reverse that production cut because we’re seeing signs that demand is getting better and they failed to do that, added Price Futures Group analyst Phil Flynn.
The coronavirus pandemic drove demand for gasoline down dramatically as states like Pennsylvania enacted business shutdowns and travel restrictions about a year ago.