When the OPEC+ alliance of oil producers gathers next week, group leader Saudi Arabia can savor a moment of triumph.
Eighteen months after slashing crude production during the pandemic, Riyadh is set to pump at almost pre-Covid levels of 9.8 million barrels a day this month as a recovering global economy clamours for energy supplies.
Furthermore, by bringing those shipments back slowly enough to avert a new surplus, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman has revived crude prices to $80 a barrel. That’s swelled the kingdom’s petroleum revenues to a three-year high, putting them on track for an even bigger payout in 2022.
“OPEC+ has had a very good year,” said Ben Luckock, co-head of oil trading at commodities merchant Trafigura Group. “They have delivered: they have managed to thread the needle.”
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