OPEC + will meet physically in Vienna, headquarters of the cartel of oil producers, on Wednesday, “for the first time since March 2020” and the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the alliance announced in a press release on Saturday.
Representatives of the thirteen members of the Organization of Crude Exporting Countries (OPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, and their ten allies led by Russia, meet amid rumors of major production cuts in the face of fears of recession.
As the economic outlook darkens, and with it that of crude demand, the murmurs intensify.
The two global crude benchmarks have fallen sharply since the last meeting in September, hovering around $80, well off the highs recorded in March, at $139.13 for North Sea Brent and $130.50 for the WTI, at the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
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Before the pandemic, producers met twice a year in the Austrian capital.
But since the spring of 2020, the 23 members have been meeting every month, by videoconference, to better refine their objectives in the face of the volatility of demand.
In the spring of 2020, they had voluntarily left millions of barrels underground so as not to flood the market with oil that they could not absorb due to confinements and health restrictions.
The recipe worked: prices, which fell into negative territory in the spring of 2020, rose again under the effect of this policy.
The calm returned, OPEC + then decided to increase production again last year.
But faced with fears of recession, the alliance had opted in early September for a reduction in volumes, which it could therefore choose to accelerate.
