Azerbaijan receives official invitation for OPEC meeting
By Nigar Abbasova
Energy-rich Azerbaijan has received an official invitation to join the upcoming meeting of the OPEC High Level Committee, which is in charge of the implementation of the preliminary Algeria deal.
Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natig Aliyev will represent the country at the meeting, which is scheduled for October 28-31 in Vienna, Austria. Along with the OPEC states, countries outside the cartel that joined consultations on an expected output freeze deal, including Russia, are due to participate in the meeting.
The participants are expected to discuss the current situation in the black gold market and the ways to improve it, including oil output cut to stabilize the prices.
Azerbaijan has already expressed its position on the issue, announcing that it will not unilaterally increase oil production, even without waiting for decisions of OPEC member countries.
The oil oversupply resulted in the sharp decrease of oil prices sending them from $115 per barrel in 2014 to as down as $27 in January 2016, which is considered to be the weakest price since 2003. The price is now ranging at the average level of $45 -50 per barrel, however, the lack of balance is still one of the most concerning issues for the market.
OPEC, which earlier agreed to cut production to a range of 32.5 million to 33.0 million barrels per day, is now looking to secure the cooperation of non-OPEC members to support oil prices and oust dominating oil glut.
In its monthly Oil Market Report, the cartel forecasted that oil supply in Azerbaijan, will average 0.87 million barrels a day, unchanged from the previous report, indicating a minor growth in the volume of 10,000 of barrels per day in 2016.
The volume of oil production is expected to stand at 0.9 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2017 and 0.8 million barrels per day in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2017 each.
The major part of oil produced in Azerbaijan, accounts for ACG block of oil and gas field, which lies 120km off the coast of Azerbaijan, and is considered to be the largest oilfield in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian Sea. The contract for the ACG development, with proven reserve of nearly 1 billion tons of oil, was signed in 1994.
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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova
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