Saudi Arabia denies rumors of OPEC+ discussing raising oil production

Picture source - Reuters

Saudi Arabia has denied all the reports that oil producers were debating raising production for their upcoming conference.

Saudi also insisted that a cut approved last month will remain in place until the end of 2023.

According to earlier reports on Monday, Saudi Arabia which co-leads the OPEC+ cartel along with Russia and other members was considering increasing production by up to 500,000 barrels per day.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman denied all the reports.

The prince stated that it is well known, and no secret, that OPEC+ does not discuss any decisions ahead of its meetings.

He also added that the present OPEC+ production cut of 2 million barrels per day will last until the end of 2023, and we stand ready to step in if additional production cuts are required to achieve a supply and demand balance.

The bloc in its meeting in October announced the cut of two million barrels per day which also increased the tensions between Riyadh and Washington.

In response to criticism from Washington Saudi authorities vehemently defended the recent output decrease asserting that it was solely motivated by market conditions and might change when those conditions changed.