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Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, known collectively as
OPEC+, meet virtually on Feb. 1. The panel, called the Joint
Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), can call for a full
OPEC+ meeting if warranted.
The meeting comes as the price of oil has rallied in 2023
towards $90 a barrel on hopes Chinese demand will recover while
the European Union and Group of Seven (G7) is set to broaden a
price cap on Russian crude to refined products from Feb. 5.
Five OPEC+ sources told Reuters the JMMC would discuss the
economic outlook and the scale of Chinese demand, and was
unlikely to suggest tweaks to current policy. One said oil's
rebound in 2023 made any changes unlikely.
"We will certainly discuss China's economy and inflation," one
of them said. "There are no expectations for this meeting. This
will not be an OPEC+ meeting, but only a JMMC with no decisions
or recommendations."
The United Arab Emirates' energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei
said on Jan. 16 the market was balanced, echoing earlier remarks
from Russian counterpart Alexander Novak. Both ministers sit on
the JMMC, which is co-chaired by Novak and Saudi Energy Minister
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.
"OPEC+ is by now somewhat comfortable that the difficult time of
COVID's impact is behind us and the geopolitical situation and
China's recovery are driving the volatility," another of the
OPEC+ sources said.
OPEC+ angered the United States and other Western nations in
October when it decided to cut output by 2 million barrels per
day (bpd) from November through 2023, instead of pumping more to
lower fuel prices and help the global economy as the U.S.
advised.
At their last meeting in December, the group left policy
unchanged and their next full meeting is not scheduled until
June.
(Reporting by Alex Lawler, Ahmad Ghaddar, Vladimir Soldatkin and
Olesya Astakhova; Editing by David Goodman and Bernadette Baum)
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