World ‘will be in chaos’ without Opec+ balancing oil market, UAE minister says

The Opec+ alliance is doing a “noble job” of balancing the oil market even though the group does not produce most of the world’s crude, the UAE’s Minister of Energy and Infrastructure said on Wednesday, ahead of a meeting of the oil producers’ group.
“I would like you to imagine the world without this group, we will be in chaos,” Suhail Al Mazrouei told attendees at an energy event in Fujairah on Wednesday.
“We are a group of 20 diverse partners but our aim and goal is one … the critical element is [that] this group is staying together,” he said.
Opec+ members will hold a panel meeting today where the group is not expected to make any changes to its production policy.
Last month, the producer alliance extended voluntary oil output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day until the end of November amid a drop in crude prices on concerns of slumping demand. Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman will pause scheduled increases of 180,000 bpd in October and November.
Oil prices have fallen this year on a weakening global demand outlook and rising supply from non-Opec+ countries. Concerns about fuel demand are primarily focused on China, the world’s second-largest economy and leading crude importer.
“It’s very difficult to predict where China would be in 10 to 20 years. There are other countries that we’re not thinking of that are catching up as well. India is one and [there are] many others,” Mr Al Mazrouei said.
India, which overtook China to become the world’s most populous country last year, will become the largest source of global oil demand growth until 2030, the International Energy Agency said in a report earlier this year.