In an interview with the Bahraini Minister of Energy, Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, for the Oil and Gas Middle East Network, commenting on the current situation of the oil sector: “We will have to reassess our investment plans and ensure that they are still applicable under the current market conditions. It is certain that the conditions of demand are not favorable due to the coronavirus, if the OPEC and Russia agreement continues, the markets would be better balanced.
The OPEC+ meeting reached a bad end when Russia refused to apply further restrictions on its production, and Saudi Arabia responded by removing its production limits, and is scheduled to produce a maximum capacity of 12 million barrels per day in April, as the Ministry of energy requested Aramco to increase its maximum sustainable capacity to 13 million barrels per day.
The minister added: “For anyone with additional volume, this is the time to produce it. As supply exceeds demand, stocks will start to fill. Structurally, this will have a negative impact on the dynamics of supply and demand and thus price.”
He also added: “The more this continues, the worse for the oil and gas sector in terms of prices and investments. In the end this will have a negative impact on future supplies, because the current prices make most of the global oil prospects uneconomic.”