Opec heading for tough output talks with worries of creating a global deficit
Dubai/Vienna — Oil cartel Opec is heading for tougher-than-expected policy talks this week amid concern that its efforts to rebalance the oil market might overshoot by creating a global deficit and spurring a further price rally. "It will not be an easy meeting and we always look at various scenarios," United Arab Emirates energy minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui said on Tuesday in Dubai before leaving for the gathering of Opec in Vienna. Opec, Russia and nine other producers are cutting oil output by about 1.8-million barrels per day (bpd) until March 2018, and, on Thursday, will discuss extending the deal. The market had largely expected Opec to prolong cuts until the end of 2018 but doubts have emerged in the past few days. Opec’s leader, Saudi Arabia, has signaled that it wants oil to trade at about $60 a barrel as the kingdom prepares to list shares in its national oil champion Aramco and is still fighting a large fiscal deficit. The Russian government also wants high oil...
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