Saudi Arabia says OPEC+ cuts could continue after March if necessary

The oil production cuts by OPEC+ can "absolutely" continue beyond the first quarter of 2024 if necessary, said Saudi Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, in an interview with Bloomberg News.

Last week, OPEC+ oil producers agreed to voluntary production cuts of around 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first quarter, led by Saudi Arabia, which renewed its commitment.

"We wanted to make sure we had a good deal, a deal larger than the market might have anticipated," said Prince Abdulaziz.

Oil prices fell after the announcement, as most analysts said the market was disappointed by the lengthy negotiations and feared that the cuts might end after March.

Prince Abdulaziz said that OPEC+ had commissioned an analysis of potential inventory increases before the meeting, and some forecasts predicted a rise in stocks of up to 1.7 million barrels per day.

He argued that the cuts agreed upon last week should be sufficient to offset the increase in inventories.

He also said that he would prefer Russia to cut production rather than exports.

But he added that he and other OPEC+ ministers realized that cutting Russian production in the winter month was challenging, and therefore, OPEC+ had asked five tanker tracking companies to work with Russia monthly to monitor its shipments.

"Russia will take on its responsibility," he said, adding that it would be difficult to convince other producers to cut if they don't know how much Russia is cutting.