The oil behemoth’s shares were priced at $7.27 (SAR27.25), near the bottom of a SAR26.7 to SAR29 range used in marketing the sale
OPEC+ is currently cutting production by about 5.7 per cent of global demand to bolster the market
OPEC+ agreed to extend crude oil supply cuts into 2025
OPEC prolongs some cuts by one year
The OPEC+ supply cuts since late 2022 have been against a backdrop of rising output from the US and other non-member producers
The fuel price committee reduced the retail rates for Super 98, Special 95, and E-Plus 91 by as much as 20 fils per litre in June
As a member of OPEC, Kuwait aims to boost its production capacity to 4 million bpd by 2035
Capacity discussions can be complicated by different oil price preferences among OPEC+ members
The fuel price committee increased the retail rates for Super 98, Special 95, and E-Plus 91 by as much as 19 fils per litre in May
While oil prices rose over 1 per cent on Monday in muted trade, gold hit a record high of $2,449.89 last week, but has shed more than $100 since then
Crude exports from the world’s largest oil exporter increased 1.5 per cent to 6.413 million barrels per day in March
OPEC sounded an upbeat tone on the economic outlook as well as future oil demand
Goldman still expects Brent crude futures to remain in a range of $75 to $90 a barrel in most scenarios
Iraq has repeatedly said it is committed to voluntary cuts but pumped over its output quota by a cumulative 602,000 bpd
The market share of OPEC crude has fallen to a multi-decade low of 27 per cent after Angola’s exit at the end of last year
Oil inventories and prices close to the long-term average imply ministers are likely to decide to keep output unchanged, based on their behaviour in the past
The announcement comes just ahead of a June 1 meeting in Vienna of the OPEC+ alliance
The geopolitical risk premium in oil prices had been unwinding this week on the perception that the US could ensure tensions were managed
Meanwhile, OPEC also sees global economic growth of 2.8 per cent in 2024
Investors will look to economic data and monetary policy for potential clues on the outlook for oil demand
While Asia’s crude demand is robust, the same can’t be said for its refinery margins, which have been squeezed by higher oil prices
OPEC+ members, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, last month agreed to extend voluntary output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day to support the market
Europe’s firm demand, softness in US supply growth coupled with a possible extension of OPEC+ cuts through 2024 outweigh downside risk from persistent softness in China’s demand
This year, international oil prices have been strong, with Brent holding above $80 a barrel
In a sign of how bullish investors were becoming most buying came from the creation of new long positions
Morgan Stanley expects oil demand to grow at 1.5 million bpd this year which is slightly above the historical trend growth
Brent crude oil rose as much as 80 cents a barrel towards $85 after the IEA report was released, touching its highest since November
OPEC and the IEA, the world’s most closely watched forecasters of oil demand growth, are further apart than they have been for at least 16 years in their views on fuel use
OPEC+ is extending voluntary oil output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day into the second quarter and this is expected to cushion the market
The oil demand outlook is uncertain for this year but OPEC expects another year of relatively strong demand growth of 2.25 million bpd