'OPEC+ leaves politics out of decisions', Saudi Energy minister says

OPEC+ members leave politics out of the decision making process and out of their assessments and forecasting, Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said in an interview with the Saudi state news agency on Tuesday.

The minister added that the OPEC+ decision to cut oil output, which was heavily criticised, turned out to be the right one for supporting the stability of the market and the industry.

Oil prices, which came close to the all-time high of $147 a barrel in March after Russia invaded Ukraine, have unwound most of their 2022 gains.

Brent crude was trading around $80 on Tuesday.

OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, have been boosting output for most of 2022 as demand recovered.

But the group on 4 December agreed to stick to an October plan to cut output by 2 million barrels per day (bpd) from November through 2023.

"Playing politics with statistics and forecasting and not maintaining objectivity often tend to backfire and result in loss of credibility," the energy minister said.

In the face of a wide range of uncertainties, OPEC+ has no choice but to remain pro-active and pre-emptive, he said.

(Reuters)