OPEC’s top official warned that oil demand remains fragile as the cartel and its partners headed for talks on whether to prolong their vast production curbs.
“We should not be out smelling the flowers just yet,” Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo told a committee of ministers that lays the ground for their main meeting, scheduled for Thursday.
The oil market is “surrounded by uncertainties, including the prevalence of Covid-19 variants, the uneven rollout of vaccines, further lockdowns and third waves in several countries,” Barkindo said.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are widely expected to maintain their output curbs for at least another month. Bolstering that view, the coalition’s technical experts lowered their demand estimates on Tuesday.
But there’s still the potential for surprises at Thursday’s gathering of the 23-nation group, which is jointly led by Saudi Arabia and Russia. The possibility of increasing production is among the options that may be considered, according to two delegates who asked to speak anonymously.
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