Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia will extend the voluntary 1 million barrels per day cut, announced in July, to the month of September, with the possibility of further extension.
Saudi Press Agency, quoting an official source from the Kingdom’s Ministry of Energy, said the country’s production for the month of September 2023 will be approximately 9 million barrels per day
This cut is in addition to the voluntary cut previously announced by the Kingdom in April 2023, which extends until the end of December 2024.
The source confirmed that this additional voluntary cut comes to reinforce the precautionary efforts made by OPEC Plus countries with the aim of supporting the stability and balance of oil markets, SPA said.
Saudi Arabia had extended the cut in August also. At the same time, its ally in the OPEC+ group of oil producers, Russia, decided to slash exports by 500,000 bpd in August.
Speaking at an OPEC seminar in Vienna, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the coordinated announcement was “quite telling”.
“Part of what we have done with the help of our colleagues from Russia was also to mitigate the cynical side of the spectators on what is going on between Saudi Arabia and Russia,” he added.
Moscow and Riyadh have not always talked with one voice regarding oil quotas, with Russia less enthusiastic than Saudi Arabia about cutting production as it needs the revenue amid its war in Ukraine and Western sanctions.
Saudi Arabia is counting on high oil prices to fund an ambitious reform agenda that could shift its economy away from fossil fuels.
Analysts say the kingdom needs oil to be priced at $80 per barrel to balance its budget, which is well above recent averages.