UAE Expects Oil Market to Balance in First Quarter

According to the energy minister of the United Arab Emirates, supply and demand of the oil market should balance out in the first quarter of 2019, following weeks of output cuts.

“My expectation is that we will see the balance during the first quarter unless something happens,” Suheil al-Mazrouei told the three-day World Government Summit in Dubai.

“We are removing enough oil to correct the market,” Mazrouei said.

OPEC cartel countries and other major oil producers in January began implementing a deal to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day to shore up sagging prices.

Based on provisional figures of production levels in January, most oil producing nations were complying to the cuts, Mazrouei said.

The oil market, however, remains highly volatile and prices hover just above $60 a barrel after recovering from as low as $50 a barrel.

That figure remains far below the $85 a barrel oil hit in early October before beginning to slide.

Mazrouei said producers were “doing our best” to stabilise the market.