Riyadh – Mubasher: The oil market is moving in the right direction, but needs time to rebalance, Asharq Al Awsat newspaper reported on Monday, citing Saudi minister of energy, industry and mineral resources Khalid Al Falih as saying.
“In my opinion, market fundamentals are going in the right direction, but in light of the large surplus in stockpiles over the past years, the cut needs time to take effect," Al Falih told the newspaper, according to Reuters.
He also said that the market is expected to rebalance in the fourth quarter of 2017, considering a rise in shale oil production.
Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Nigeria and Libya were not obliged to follow suit in terms of supply cuts as local unrest had automatically curbed their output, Al Falih said, noting that “it is inappropriate to pressure Libya to slow the recovery in its production”.
In May, members and non-members of OPEC agreed to extend the oil output cut agreement until March 2018, by cutting 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd).
