Saudi Arabia unlikely to agree on oil output freeze
Ongoing tensions with Iran, as well as lack of commitment from
other oil producers, mean that Saudi officials will be hesitant to
sign up to a deal to freeze oil output, analysts of the British
economic research and consulting company Capital Economics
believe.
“There have been signs in recent weeks that the sharp slowdown in
the Saudi economy caused by fiscal austerity may have prompted the
authorities to look at alternative solutions to deal with the
collapse in oil prices,” analysts said in the report, obtained by
Trend.
In particular, they mentioned, officials have softened their
opposition to a deal to freeze oil output to boost oil prices,
while a forthcoming bumper international bond issuance suggests
that the appetite for further fiscal consolidation may be
waning.
But even though austerity seems to be pushing the economy towards
recession, we expect policymakers to continue along this path, the
analysts said.
The informal OPEC meeting is expected in late September in Algiers.
It is expected that the talks on oil production freeze will be held
between OPEC and non-OPEC countries.
The meeting will be held at the fringe of the International Energy
Forum in Algiers from 26-28 September.
Saudi Arabia is the largest OPEC oil producer and exporter. The
Kingdom produced 10.605 million barrels per day of oil in August
compared to 10.577 million barrels per day in July, according to
OPEC’s latest estimates.
---
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz