Khalid al-Falih, Saudi oil minister, speaking of the next OPEC + meeting scheduled for next April, said that the United States and China will formulate a healthy global demand for oil later in the year but that it is still too early to change OPEC policy.
According to the forecasts expressed by the minister, global global oil demand is expected to grow by around 1,5 million barrels per day (bpd).
Speaking to Reuters, Falih commented "If you look at Venezuela alone, you will panic, if you look at the United States, you would say that the world is full of oil. You have to look at the market as a whole. We believe that the demand for the 2019 is actually quite healthy ".
In Venezuela, due to a political and economic crisis, oil exports fell by 40% to around 920.000, on the other hand, production in the United States hit a record of over 12 million bpd in February.
The International Energy Agency in a report last month left the demand growth forecast for 2019 unchanged from January at 1,4 million barrels per day.
Falih then noted that Chinese demand broke records every month and estimated that the country would exceed 11 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2019, adding that oil production for Saudi Arabia in April is expected to remain at the top of the range. level of 9,8 million bpd.
The OPEC + alliance, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies such as Russia, will meet in Vienna from April 17-18, and another meeting is scheduled for June 25 and 26.
Falih said the group is unlikely to change its production policy in April and, if necessary, make adjustments in June.
"We will see where the market will be by June and adjust appropriately".
On January 1, OPEC + initiated new production cuts to avoid oversupply that threatened to soften prices. The group agreed to reduce supply by 1,2 million barrels per day for six months.
Sources recently said OPEC + production policy is expected to be agreed in June with an extension of the current pact, but much depends on the extent of US sanctions on both OPEC members Iran and Venezuela.