Baqar HussainOPEC and non-OPEC oil producers need to work together to tackle a global stocks overhang so oil prices can recover and investments in new fields begin, OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri said on Monday.
“It is vital the market addresses the issue of the stock overhang. As you can see from previous cycles, once this overhang starts falling then prices start to rise,” he said.
Mr. al-Badri said it is crucial that all major producers sit down to come up with a solution as the market needs to see inventories come down to levels that allow prices to recover and investments to return.
The issue is something OPEC and non-OPEC producers should tackle together he said, but added that the majority of this has to come from non-OPEC countries.
The remarks again indicated that OPEC won’t act alone to make output cuts.
The slump in oil prices saw global benchmark Brent crude fall to below $28 per barrel last week, the lowest level since November 2003. It had peaked at above $115 in the summer of 2014.
Syed Zaki Hussain
