Opec Cut Extension May Prolong Tanker Downturn
THE Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies have extended their production cut agreement by another nine months, a move that could prolong the tanker market downturn.
According to MANA, The oil cartel and 11 non-Opec producers, including Russia, agreed to cut their output by a total of 1.8m barrels per day last November, and the initial six-month deal is set to expire on June 30.
With still-high oil stocks globally, they decided to maintain the production cut until the end of March 2018 in a ministerial meeting in Vienna on Thursday.
Spot earnings for very large crude carriers on the Middle East-Asia route closed at $16,105 per day on Thursday, compared with the year-ago level of $69,594.
The next Opec and non-Opec ministerial meeting will be held on November 30.