Opec+ JTC meeting will not happen on 18 March

A meeting of the Opec and non-Opec Joint Technical Committee (JTC) will no longer take place as scheduled on 18 March, reducing any chance that the group will revisit extending its production deal in the short term.

Three delegates have said the meeting has been postponed, with one estimating that it would probably be rescheduled this month. The reunion was initially scheduled to take place by webinar.

The JTC studies supply and demand fundamentals and advises Opec and its partners — collectively known as Opec+ — on the need to intervene through output declines or increases. The meeting would have been the first reunion of Opec+ officials since the group's failure on 6 March to agree any continuation of their production restraint agreement, which expires at the end of this month.

Opec had on 5 March proposed reducing Opec+ output by a further 1.5mn b/d until the end of the year in response to the demand impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Russia, the largest producer among the non-Opec partners, vehemently opposed further cuts.

Brent future settlements lost $4.72/bl to reach $45.27/bl on 6 March, and lost a further $10.91/bl on Monday 9 March, after Saudi Arabia signalled the start of a battle for market share by aggressively reducing its official April formula prices over the weekend. The country and neighbouring UAE have since followed up with announcements that they plan to sharply increase supplies to the market to 12.3mn b/d and 4mn b/d next month, respectively.

Russian energy minister Alexander Novak on 10 March retaliated by saying the country could raise production by 200,000-300,000 b/d in the short term, and has the potential to add 500,000 b/d in total to existing output.

By Rowena Edwards, Ruxandra Iordache and Anastasia Krasinskaya

source: Argus Media