UAE cuts March oil output by nearly 200,000 bpd

The UAE reduced its oil output for March by nearly 200,000 barrels per day due to maintenance works, the country’s energy minister said on Tuesday.

The production cut will continue over the next two months, official news agency WAM quoted Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei as saying on the sidelines of an event in Abu Dhabi.

A drop in crude stockpiles is expected to lead to a rise in demand, he added.

Al Mazrouei also confirmed that talks are on among OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers about extending the output cut.

The Organisation will discuss that during its upcoming meeting in April, he added.

The original deal between OPEC and 11 other producers was struck in December, as part of which all the countries agreed to cut their combined output by almost 1.8 million bpd in the first half of the year.

The agreement, which began in January, lasts for six months.

Earlier this week, a joint committee of ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers said in a draft statement that it “reports high level of conformity and recommends a six-month extension”.

In its final statement, the committee said that it had requested a technical group and the OPEC Secretariat to “review the oil market conditions and revert … in April, 2017 regarding the extension of the voluntary production adjustments”.

Read more: OPEC, non-OPEC oil producers discuss output-cut extension