Owji made the remark after the 24th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting held via video conference on Tuesday, January 4, 2022, adding the group agreed to extend their agreement to increase crude oil output by 400,000 bpd for February 2020.

According to JMMC’s report as well as the world economic outlook and global oil supply-demand drivers analysis for 2022, the OPEC+ member states all agreed to raise production by 400,000 bpd, he added.

OPEC+ also emphasized steady and regular monitoring of market developments and taking necessary measures to maintain stability in oil market, he said, adding all countries will continue their efforts to safeguard the achievements of the agreement.

Statistics and reports show that despite concerns over the outbreaks of Omicron variant, global oil market is moving towards balance and stability, thanks to the improved economic indicators in the world, particularly in major oil consuming countries, as well as the appropriate OPEC+ member states’ compliance, which reached 117 percent in November, Owji said.

OPEC+ member countries are also satisfied with the current situation and all producers try to maintain the existing stability in the oil market, he stated.

“Given the promising economic outlook for the first quarter of 2022, the current trend is expected to be maintained. The OPEC+ countries are ready to swiftly and securely provide the market and consumers with oil when required,” Owji said.

OPEC+ Sticks to Production Policy for February 2022

According to today's decision (Tuesday, January 4, 2022), OPEC+ oil and energy ministers will increase the coalition’s crude oil output by 400,000 barrels, regardless of the release of strategic crude oil reserves by the United States and China and the outbreak of Covid-19’s Omicron variant.

At their 19th meeting in July, OPEC and its allies agreed to increase production by a total of 400,000 barrels per day each month to end the supply limit of 5.8 million barrels per day, a decision that has been in place since August.

In response to the collapse in demand at the height of the Covid-19 crisis, OPEC+ has limited production by 9.7 million barrels per day since May 2020, equivalent to roughly 10% of global demand, but since then, as demand has improved, it has eased supply constraints over time.

The members of this coalition decided to hold the 25th joint meeting of the OPEC+ on 2 February.