Vienna, March 3 (Xinhua) -- The Secretariat of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) issued a statement on March 3 saying that a number of OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers decided to extend the voluntary production cut of 2.2 million barrels per day in the first quarter of this year until the end of June to maintain the stability and balance of the international oil market.
According to the statement, the production cut will continue to refer to the 2024 production targets set by the 35th OPEC+ ministerial meeting in June 2023, and is an additional production cut after the major oil producers announced voluntary production cuts in April last year.
Saudi Arabia announced on the same day that it would extend the voluntary production cut of 1 million barrels per day until the end of June. Russia announced a voluntary average daily production cut of 4710,000 barrels, slightly lower than the voluntary production cuts of 500,000 barrels per day in the first quarter. OPEC+ members of Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman also announced the extension of voluntary production cuts in the first quarter until the end of June.
The statement said that after the second quarter of this year, the relevant "OPEC+" members will gradually reduce voluntary production cuts according to market conditions to maintain the stability of the oil market.
In April 2023, OPEC+ announced a voluntary average production cut of 1.66 million barrels per day from May to the end of the year, which has since been extended until the end of 2024. At its ministerial meeting in June 2023, OPEC+ decided to adjust its 2024** total production target to 40.46 million barrels per day.