OPEC and its allies decided to increase production by 500,000 barrels per day from January at a meeting in December last year, and then adjust production monthly.
The statement at the time showed that, in view of the current crude oil market conditions and economic prospects, the average daily output reduction scale from January will be adjusted from 7.7 million barrels to 7.2 million barrels, which means an increase of 500,000 barrels per day. OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries agreed to hold monthly ministerial meetings starting from January to assess market conditions and determine the scale of production adjustments for the next month, with monthly adjustments not exceeding 500,000 barrels per day.
At the last meeting, the oil-producing countries also agreed to extend the period of compensation for production cuts to the end of March 2021, allowing oil-producing countries that did not meet the production cuts to make up for insufficient production cuts through additional production cuts.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak previously stated that in view of the full implementation of the production cuts, the oil price is in the price range of 45 to 55 US dollars per barrel, so it is time to consider increasing production. However, in response to whether Russia wants to add another 500,000 barrels per day in February, he said: "If the situation is normal and stable, we will support increased production."
However, the current epidemic situation is putting pressure on the oil market.
Since the UK confirmed the new crown variant virus in mid-December, the epidemic situation in the UK has become more and more serious. The country confirmed 54990 infections on Sunday,
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Sunday that as the number of cases continues to rise, stricter lockdown restrictions may be imposed and that the school will not be ruled out again. At present, most areas of England are in the highest level 4 blockade, and the government is also considering introducing a higher level 5 blockade.
According to the "Daily Telegraph" report, the British government is drawing up relevant plans and may announce a third blockade across the territory in the middle of this month, or it will last until early April. And Scotland has entered a state of lockdown on Monday.
The more transmissible variant virus in the UK has spread in many countries. The United States has found more cases of the variant virus infection in three states, and these cases have no travel history, indicating that the variant has spread unknowingly.
After the state of Colorado in the United States confirmed a case of mutated new coronavirus on December 29, another suspected case of mutated new coronavirus was found in the state on Wednesday. Florida health officials detected the state’s first case of a variant virus infection last Thursday, and California has detected at least four infections of the variant virus in San Diego County.
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said that although there is evidence that the new strain is more easily spread than the previous virus, it is believed that it will not cause more serious diseases in the infected people, and the current vaccine may still respond to this. effect.
However, if the new strain spreads and causes more people to be hospitalized, it may make the situation worse. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the United States reported 6.3 million new infections and more than 77,500 deaths in December.
Data from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration shows that although the number of air travel has dropped significantly compared to last year, air travel has surged during the Christmas and New Year holidays. The US epidemic is likely to worsen in the next few weeks.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference on Monday that the Japanese government is coordinating the release of a state of emergency declaration for Tokyo and neighboring Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures within this week.
German Chancellor Merkel and local government leaders plan to meet on Tuesday to discuss extending restrictions beyond January 10. Some hard-hit states called for an extension of three weeks and required school closures, while other states favored an extension of two weeks.
OPEC Secretary General Barkin warned on Sunday that although crude oil demand is expected to increase by 5.9 million barrels per day to 95.9 million barrels per day in 2021, there are downside risks to demand in the first half of the year.
On Monday, OPEC and its allies will hold a meeting to discuss crude oil production from February. Analysts predict that the organization is likely to maintain the January production level in February because of the increased risk of the epidemic and the slower-than-expected vaccination rate.