Osama Suleiman from Vienna
Crude oil prices continued to bleed losses for the second week in a row, as both Brent and US crude lost about 6 percent on a weekly basis, due to the exacerbation of fears of weak global demand in exchange for the abundance of supply and growing oil stocks, with a direct impact from the rapid and growing casualties of the Corona pandemic in many countries of the world.
OPEC + producers are preparing for a new monthly meeting of the ministerial committee to monitor production cuts next Thursday - via the Internet - chaired by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the Saudi Energy Minister, and Alexander Novak, the Russian Energy Minister, to review the oil market data and indicators in light of successive downward pressures, and to face the doubts surrounding The global economy recovers, and to support demand growth at a healthy pace.
As OPEC prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its founding and commemorate the 55th anniversary of the organization’s move to work from the Austrian capital Vienna, the International Oil Information Agency, Platts, confirmed that OPEC’s celebration of its 60th anniversary came in difficult circumstances in the market due to the Corona pandemic. It led to widespread unrest unprecedented in the history of the industry, indicating that the continuing acceleration of injuries caused Iraq to apologize for organizing this event, as it had previously called for the celebration of this anniversary in Baghdad, the capital that witnessed the birth of OPEC.
A recent report by the International Agency said, "The global economies are struggling to adapt to the epidemic, with the demand on the oil market suffering successive blows," noting that many governments see in the current circumstances an opportunity to accelerate the ambitious transformation goals towards renewable energy.
And the price of the cooperation of the 13 OPEC members with Russia and nine other allies to make drastic cuts in production, which helped save prices from their historic lows last spring and contributed to reviving prices to current levels at around $ 40 a barrel, indicating OPEC’s ability to achieve Overcoming the current crisis and achieving prosperity in the coming years.
He pointed out that in times of crises such as the current one, the importance, and necessity of the pivotal role of OPEC in saving the sector, pointing out that the market crash this year prompted US President Donald Trump to demand that OPEC and its allies make deep production cuts, which is an acknowledgment of the importance of the role and influence of this bloc.
The report quoted international companies expecting that the future may be different, especially in light of expectations that demand for gasoline and diesel will reach its peak in 2032, indicating that "OPEC" will remain strong and alive for decades to come, indicating that "OPEC" - on its part - Strongly confident in its influential and pioneering role in directing the energy market and working to serve the long-term stability and prosperity of the industry.
He pointed out that "OPEC" has overcome all claims of questioning its role or marginalization, and has proven its worth and depth of influence in the market. It also confirms that oil will remain a basic fuel in the future, indicating the importance of the traditional oil industry and that the world's poorest countries will suffer more than others as a result of losing Resources, jobs, and increased economic burdens.
The report stated that the organization will issue its latest forecast for global oil next October, including its long-term forecast after the pandemic. The report noted that OPEC Secretary-General Muhammad Barkindo said, "The challenges facing our planet require comprehensive solutions, as there is no single source of energy, which is medicine." "Healer, there is a need to search for cleaner and more efficient technological solutions everywhere and across all available energies."
The report said, "The common interests and goals were the focus of the establishment of OPEC in 1960, when the founding members of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Venezuela, and Iran met at a five-day summit in Baghdad due to annoyance over the price cuts imposed by the" big seven "international oil companies operating in their countries. The organization sought to protect the financial interests of its members through collective cooperation.
He pointed out that with the expansion of the organization’s membership across three continents, OPEC’s mission has evolved to achieve what it considers a fair price for both producers and consumers, and it has done so through a variety of mechanisms, the most important of which is defining price ranges and coordinating production quotas and production ceilings
In its report, the agency pointed out that the organization has always sought to separate politics from the economy and focus on market mechanisms and their data alone. OPEC oil production was not used for political purposes except in rare periods, such as the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s.
The report pointed out that the organization’s influence on the oil market is great, which made it hold its ministerial meetings twice a year at the OPEC secretariat in Vienna, explaining that OPEC previously controlled more than half of the world's crude oil supplies, but with the emergence of more countries. The producer has diminished its market share to about a third, prompting it to open up more and strengthen cooperation with the rest of the producers, especially Russia and nine other countries, since 2017 in order to better manage the market in a way that serves the interests of all parties.
He stated that in light of this diverse membership and sometimes competing goals, OPEC + is struggling to achieve a recovery in demand and rebalancing the market between defending its share in exchange for price support, indicating that in recent years OPEC + has implemented production cuts - with varying levels of compliance - with Keep a wary eye on the performance of competitors from US shale oil producers.
He pointed out that the continued competition between OPEC + production countries and American producers serves the interest of industry and consumers in particular and refutes the complaints of monopoly practice, noting that American production was in a state of the continuous and ruthless increase until the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, explaining that the epidemic with its wide effects on demand He is resisting OPEC’s efforts to boost prices through production cuts as many producers monitored inflation in their budget deficits.
The report quoted international analysts as confirming that the epidemic has greatly affected US production, but the shale oil patch in the United States will remain a force to be reckoned with and has changed market dynamics, indicating that the positive competition between OPEC + and US production continues despite the current difficulties. Negatively affect everyone.
"In the face of American competition, OPEC looked eastward to Asia, as many of its main members in the Middle East made major investments in Asian refineries and petrochemical plants to serve this growing market," he added, noting that it cannot be denied that the spread of the epidemic has already led to a rethink. In some of those plans, due to the uncertainty of recovering oil demand.
On the other hand, and with regard to prices at the end of last week, crude oil prices suffered on Friday the second consecutive weekly loss, as investors expect the continued glut of global oil supply with an increase in the weak demand for crude oil due to the growing cases of Coronavirus in many countries of the world.
Brent and West Texas crude oil prices fell this week by about 6 percent each, and the performance of oil prices varied during Friday's trading in light of market anticipation of developments in global demand and supply.
The dollar index settled "against a basket of major currencies" by 18:14 GMT at 93.3 points, and recorded the highest level at 93.3 points, while the lowest level was recorded at 93.1 points, while oil recorded its second consecutive weekly losses in light of concern about global demand Tensions among major producers, especially fears of a price war erupting again.
Saudi Arabia announced a plan to reduce the prices of exported oil to its customers in Asia in October.
Yesterday, data issued by the Energy Information Administration revealed that crude inventories in America rose for the first time in seven weeks.
In terms of trading, US Nymex crude futures for October delivery rose 0.2 percent to 37.3 dollars a barrel by 18:18 GMT, and the highest price was at 37.8 dollars and the lowest price at 36.6 dollars.
Brent crude futures for November delivery fell 0.1 percent to $ 40.01 a barrel and recorded the highest price at $ 40.3 and the lowest price at $ 39.3.
