Azernews.Az

By Leman Mammadova

OPEC+ countries have decided to extend the deal to reduce oil production until March 31, 2020.

The extension of the deal to restrict oil production for another 9 months by OPEC + countries fully meets the interests of Azerbaijan, said Parviz Shahbazov, Minister of Energy, commenting on the results of the ministerial meeting in Vienna on July 2.

“Azerbaijan joined the decision to extend the deal to reduce oil production until the end of the first quarter of 2020. This is an important decision to ensure market balance in a period of ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainties,” he said, adding that Azerbaijan’s joining this process and the signing of the Declaration of Cooperation fully meets the interests of the country.

Shahbazov also stressed that the OPEC + countries once again demonstrated solidarity against risks.

Commenting on the signing of the Cooperation Charter by 24 OPEC and non-OPEC countries, he noted that this document will allow for the joint efforts to balance the oil market. The Charter, as a mechanism for long-term cooperation, will protect the interests of oil producers and provide sustainable support to the oil industry.

It is noteworthy that oil production in Azerbaijan will be 776,000 barrels per day as part of the OPEC + deal extension.

The implementation of the Declaration of Cooperation is planned from July 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020. The quotas of OPEC + countries established by the agreement of December 7, 2018, which came into force on January 1, 2019, remain unchanged: cartel countries cut production by 800,000 barrels per day, and non-OPEC countries - by 400,000 barrels.

Azerbaijan also supported the decision to reduce oil production and joined the agreement to support the process of world oil market regulation. As part of the agreement, Azerbaijan reduced daily production by 20,000 barrels to 776,000 barrels since January 1, 2019.

In January-May 2019, the average daily oil production in Azerbaijan amounted to 771,200 barrels. It is noteworthy that the average daily oil production in Azerbaijan in 2018 amounted to 792,600 barrels.

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Leman Mammadova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888

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