Media Banned From OPEC+ Vienna Meetings
The media focuses a lot on OPEC+ meetings. This affects oil prices.
OPEC+ has barred some important news agencies from their meetings in Vienna.
The talks have denied Reuters, Bloomberg News, and The Wall Street Journal entry.
When OPEC+ meets, the news is important and affects the price of oil and money markets. The Financial Times and other specialized publications have also been invited to attend.
The Financial Times was told that a ban was put in place. The group didn’t say why. The rumor is that Saudi Arabia’s oil prices may be part of the reason.
Prince Abdulaziz spoke at the Qatar Economic Forum and warned market speculators to be careful. He got annoyed with people who try to make money from the OPEC+ decisions. He is in charge of OPEC and the group of countries in OPEC+.
OPEC+ and Russia will meet on Sunday. They will talk about the oil production policy. This policy will be for the second half of the year. People think they will agree.
From October 2022, the group lowered output by 2 million barrels per day due to lower demand. In April, they surprised the market with an additional cut of 1.16 million barrels per day.
Reporters will be there. They want to talk to ministers. They will try to catch them between meetings.
Oil supply will become tight in the second half of 2023, according to the IEA. This is because China's demand for oil will increase. China is easing its Covid restrictions, which is why its oil demand is growing.
Matching Output With Need
People think Prince Abdulaziz might suggest more production cuts before the meeting. The press will not be as involved.
Goldman Sachs experts say OPEC+ will maintain current production levels. Reuters was told by OPEC+ members that there would be no change to production cuts at the meeting. However, they noted that everything could change based on some members' moods.
OPEC+ thinks oil demand will hit 2.33mbpd in 2021. Non-OPEC supplies will grow 1.4mbpd.
Adi Imsirovic, a former energy trader, and senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, spoke to The Financial Times. He said that Prince Abdulaziz is speaking without considering the consequences.
Imsirovic says if you pretend to cut supply, but don't, prices will drop. However, if Saudi Arabia cuts and Russia doesn't, Russia will lose market share in Asia.
