Oil: OPEC + increases production for February

The twenty-three OPEC + countries decided on Tuesday to increase slightly their production in February, while the demand for oil is at this stage little affected by the spread of the Omicron variant.

Representatives of the thirteen members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their ten allies via the OPEC + agreement have agreed “to adjust their total level of production to 400,000 barrels per day for the month of February 2022,” OPEC announced in a press release following a quick interview.

The market’s reaction remained limited, as the decision had been widely anticipated by investors. Thus, oil prices continued to rise around 2:30 p.m. GMT (+ 0.79% to $ 79.60 for Brent, the European benchmark for crude), supported by the cartel’s optimistic outlook on demand. In December, producers adopted the same target for January, despite concerns about Omicron which had caused prices to drop, simply promising to monitor the market very closely.

On the eve of Tuesday’s summit, OPEC appointed a new secretary general: the former Kuwaiti governor to the Organization, Haitham Al-Ghais, who will succeed Nigerian in August and for three years Mohammed Barkindo.

In office since 2016, it is under the leadership of Mr. Barkindo that OPEC has resumed its status as leader of the gross thanks to the Opep + alliance, the next meeting of which is scheduled for February 2.

SM