MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2021) The OPEC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) will convene on Wednesday ahead of the 15th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting, during which the alliance of oil producers will determine the volume of oil cuts in May.
The JMMC on Wednesday will oversee the compliance of the OPEC+ participants with the oil production quotas. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the compliance increased to 112 percent in February. The committee will also revise how the underperfoming countries are offsetting their production shortcomings from the previous months.
At the OPEC Ministerial Meeting on Thursday, the volume of oil production cuts in May would dominate the agenda. It remains to be seen whether the alliance of oil producers will ease the output quotas or further extend the current level of production cuts, which in March stood at 7.05 million barrels a day (mbd) and in April will ease to 6.9 mbd due to a slight increase in oil production granted only to Russia and Kazakhstan.
Saudi Arabia may also announce whether it will extend its additional voluntary oil production cut of 1 mbd, which it has been contributing since February. A source in one of the OPEC+ delegations told Sputnik that most OPEC+ nations had confirmed readiness to extend the current terms of the deal for May, while Riyadh remains committed to continue its voluntary oil production cuts over worries of uncertainties in oil demand.
The prospects for oil demand growth indeed remain lackluster. Last month, both IEA and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries only slightly upgraded their forecasts and now expect the demand to grow in 2021 by 5.5 mbd and 5.9 mbd, respectively. Ahead of the OPEC+ meetings, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo on Tuesday warned of remaining uncertainties and fragility in the oil market despite some positive developments.
