The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has expressed deep commitment to long-term market stability over political considerations.
OPEC’s secretary general, Haitham Al Ghais, on Tuesday at the India Energy Week conference dropped the proposal, saying, this stance comes in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls for increased oil production to lower prices.
Al Ghais stated that OPEC’s decisions are based on technical analysis of the market, focusing on supply and demand.
The OPEC and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, have resolved to continue their policy of gradually increasing oil output starting in April. This decision aligns with the group’s strategy to maintain market equilibrium and follows their earlier announcement this month.
The OPEC+ has decided to uphold production cuts until the end of March, citing concerns about global demand and increasing output from non-member countries.
Al Ghais highlighted the low volatility of oil prices in the past year, attributing it to the clear and deliberate decisions made by OPEC+.
President Trump, since resuming office in January, has argued that high oil prices have been advantageous for Russia amidst the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The U.S. President’s relationship with OPEC+ has been contentious, particularly during his first term from 2016 to 2020, when he urged the group to boost production to offset the decrease in Iranian oil supplies caused by U. S sanctions.
