OPEC+ Will React Faster, Be More Hands-On With Oil Market - Bloomberg

OPEC+ Will React Faster, Be More Hands-On With Oil Market - Bloomberg

OPEC+ will react faster to changes and take a more hands-on approach with the oil market, thanks to its accelerated schedule of monthly meetings, according to Russia and Saudi Arabia, the group’s leaders.

More frequent OPEC+ conferences mean policy makers in oil-producing countries will drive the market in the coming months, not speculators, said Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. He spoke to reporters after talks in Riyadh on Saturday with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.

“We are meeting monthly because we believe that the market is still not recovered and is still extremely volatile,” Novak said. “We need to adopt a hands-on approach and be able to react faster.”

After a difficult round of talks in early December, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed to meet every month, a significant acceleration of their typical bi-annual schedule. The next meeting is on Jan. 4, when they will consider whether to add as much as 500,000 barrels a day of production to the market.