The 5th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting concludes

The 5^th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting was held in Vienna, Austria, on Friday, 07 December 2018, under the Co-Chairmanship of OPEC’s President, HE Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy & Industry of the United Arab Emirates and Head of its Delegation, and HE Alexander Novak, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation.

The Meeting recalled the rights of peoples and nations to permanent sovereignty over their natural wealth and resources.

Recalling the ‘Declaration of Cooperation’ reached on 10 December 2016, between OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries.

Reaffirming the continued commitment of the participating producing countries in the ‘Declaration of Cooperation’ (DOC) to a stable market, the mutual interest of producing nations, the efficient, economic, and secure supply to consumers, and a fair return on invested capital, and noting the overall improvement in market conditions and sentiment, and the return of confidence and investment to the oil industry.

Accordingly, the 5^th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting, following deliberations on the immediate oil market prospects and in view of a growing imbalance between global oil supply and demand in 2019, hereby decided to adjust the overall production by 1.2 mb/d, effective as of January 2019 for an initial period of six months. The contributions from OPEC and the voluntary contributions from non-OPEC participating countries of the ‘Declaration of Cooperation’ will correspond to 0.8 mb/d (2.5%), and 0.4 mb/d (2.0%), respectively.

The JMMC was requested to monitor the fair implementation of the above mentioned resolution and report back to the Meeting.

The Meeting emphasized the support and commitment of all participating countries in the ‘Declaration of Cooperation’ to build on the success achieved thus far, through further institutionalizing the framework for regular and lasting cooperation under the draft Charter of Cooperation between Oil Producing Countries, which was endorsed in principle and to be finalized and ratified by the participating countries. The Meeting also noted that the ‘Declaration of Cooperation’ remains open to all producers.

The Meeting extended its deep appreciation to the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) and the OPEC Secretariat for their continued support since the 4^th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting on 23 June 2018. This included their analysis and recommendations, as well as their constructive and effective engagement in ensuring that the voluntary productions decisions were implemented in a timely and equitable manner.

The Meeting decided that the next OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting will convene in Vienna, Austria, in April 2019.

The Meeting expressed its sincere gratitude to the Government and to the people of the Republic of Austria, as well as the authorities of the City of Vienna, for their warm hospitality and excellent arrangements made for the meeting.