The global oil market is focused on the OPEC/N-OPEC meeting in Vienna, where members are set to meet at the OPEC headquarter to decide on the future of the agreement that was first commenced in November 2016 with an aim to reduce global oil supplies by 1.76 million barrels per day compared to the November level. Here is all you need to know about the meeting,
- Participants: all of the OPEC members will be attending the meeting. In addition to that, 11 participating non-OPEC countries like Russia will join the meeting too. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will also join the meeting as observers.
- Agenda and expectations: Members will be debating the future of the agreement to reduce oil supplies by 1.76 million barrels per day, which is widely regarded as one of the key cornerstones of price recovery. The members would be debating whether to extend the cuts for another six or nine months or announce anything later.
- Expiry: if no extended, the current agreement would expire after March 2018.
- Schedule: At 10:00 hours, there will be an open session, where all OPEC Heads of Delegation, Delegates, and Press will attend the meeting, followed by a closed session at 12:00 hours. At 15:00 hours, third OPEC/N-OPEC meeting will begin with an opening session, followed by the plenary session, and finally a closed session. The event will end with a joint press conference by the President of the OPEC Conference, the minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, and the OPEC Secretary General.
- Key points to note: Nigeria could be called in to officially join the OPEC initiative. Iraq could be held accountable as if failed to curb the output to the desired level despite joining the agreement. More countries could be called upon to join the initiative.
Both WTI and Brent are treading waters ahead of the outcome. WTI is currently trading at $57.8 per barrel and Brent at $5.5 per barrel premium.
