Kazakhstan Says It Can't Cut Oil Output Despite OPEC+ Deal
Kazakhstan said it can't cut oil production right now, and even hopes to increase output beyond planned levels later this year, deepening a stand-off with its OPEC+ counterparts.
Output is more than 70% controlled by 3 large international consortiums and 'the republic has no right to enforce production cuts' on their fields, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov told reporters in Astana on Thursday. Nor can it 'practically' cut output at other old fields operated by state-run KazMunayGas National Co. JSC, he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
OPEC+ oil producers stick to their guns with another big hike for July
By Alex Lawler, Olesya Astakhova and Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) -The world's largest group of oil producers, OPEC+, stuck to its guns on Saturday with another big increase of 411,000 barrels per day for July as it looks to wrestle back market share and punish over-producers. Having spent years curbing production - more than 5 million barrels a day (bpd) or 5% of world demand - eight OPEC+ countries made an modest output increase in April before tripling it for May, June and now July. They are spurring production despite the extra supply weighing on crude prices as group leaders Saudi Arabia and Russia seek to win back market share as well as punish over-producing allies such as Iraq and Kazakhstan. "Today's decision only goes to show that market share is on top of the agenda. If price will not get you the revenues you want, they are hoping that volume will," said analyst Harry Tchilinguirian of Onyx Captal eight countries held an online meeting on Saturday to set July production. The also discussed other options, an OPEC+ delegate said. On Friday, sources familiar with OPEC+ talks had said they could discuss an even larger hike. In a statement OPEC+ cited a "steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals, as reflected in the low oil inventories" as its reasoning for the July increase. OPEC+ pumps about half of the world's oil and includes OPEC members and allies such as Russia. Its increased supply is weighing on crude prices, squeezing all producers, but some more than others, including a key group of rivals - U.S. shale producers, analysts say. "Three strikes from OPEC+, and none were softballs. May warned, June confirmed, and July fires a shot across the bow," said Jorge Leon, head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad and a former OPEC official. Since April, the OPEC+ eight have now made or announced increases totalling 1.37 million bpd, or 62% of the 2.2 million bpd they aim to add back to the market. Higher summer oil demand favours increasing output at this time, OPEC+ officials including Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak have said. "The oil market remains tight indicating it can absorb additional barrels, as the effective increase should be smaller as several of the eight countries are overproducing, and demand is seasonally rising," said Giovanni Staunovo, analyst at UBS. Algeria was among a small number of nations that requested a pause in the output hikes on Saturday, a source familiar with the matter said. Oil prices fell to a four-year low in April, slipping below $60 per barrel after OPEC+ said it was tripling its output hike in May and as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs raised concerns about global economic weakness. Prices closed just below $63 on Friday. Global oil demand is expected to grow by an average of 775,000 bpd in 2025, according to a Reuters poll of analysts published on Friday, while the International Energy Agency in its latest outlook saw an increase of 740,000 bpd. Besides the 2.2 million bpd cut that the eight members started to unwind in April, OPEC+ has two other layers of cuts that are expected to remain in place until the end of 2026.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Oil finishes down on possible OPEC+ output hike
By Erwin Seba HOUSTON (Reuters) -U.S. crude futures fell on Friday as traders expected OPEC+ would decide on Saturday to boost oil output for July beyond previous forecasts. Brent crude futures settled down 25 cents, or 0.39%, at $63.90 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude finished down 15 cents, or 0.25%, at $60.79 a barrel, having earlier dropped more than $1 a barrel. The Brent July futures contract is due to expire on Friday. The more liquid August contract was down 71 cents, or 1.12%, at $62.64 a barrel. At these levels, the front-month benchmark contracts were headed for weekly losses over 1%. Prices dipped into negative territory after Reuters reported that OPEC+ may discuss an increase in July output larger than the 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) rise that the group decided on for May and June. "What OPEC+ is planning doesn't look particularly supportive for the oil market," said Matt Smith, Kpler's lead analyst for the Americas. The potential OPEC+ output hike comes as the global surplus has widened to 2.2 million bpd, likely necessitating a price adjustment to prompt a supply-side response and restore balance, said JPMorgan analysts in a note, adding that they expected prices to remain within the current range before easing into the high $50s by year-end. Phil Flynn, a senior analyst with Price Futures Group, said an online post on Truth Social by U.S. President Donald Trump that seemed to threaten more changes in tariff levels for Chinese imports also put pressure on crude prices. "Trump's Truth Social message on China failing to observe a truce on tariffs also combined with the Reuters headline to push prices down," Flynn said. Trump's tariffs were expected to remain in effect after a federal appeals court temporarily reinstated them on Thursday, reversing a trade court's decision a day earlier to put an immediate block on the sweeping duties. U.S. energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for a fifth week in a row to the lowest since November 2021, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday. It was the first time since September 2023 that the number of rigs declined for five straight weeks. Baker Hughes said this week's decline put the total count down by 37 rigs, or 6%, from this time last year. Oil rigs fell by four to 461 this week, their lowest since November 2021, the company said. Gas rigs rose by one to 99.
New York Times
12 hours ago
- New York Times
OPEC Plus Members Say They Will Fast-Track Oil Output
Eight members of the OPEC Plus oil cartel said Saturday that they planned to continue their accelerated increases in production in July, the third consecutive month. The group, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, said in a news release that it was acting 'in view of a steady global economic outlook and current healthy market fundamentals.' They pegged the increase at 411,000 barrels a day, although analysts say the actual amount is likely to be less. The move, which was expected, indicates a marked shift in oil policy by Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of the group. Until recently, the Saudis had kept output at what was for them an uncomfortably low level to bolster oil prices, even though other members of OPEC Plus had exceeded their cap. Saudi Arabia will gain the largest share of the combined increases — boosting its ceiling to about 9.5 million barrels a day. The Saudis and other OPEC Plus members like the United Arab Emirates had chafed because some members including Iraq and Kazakhstan had exceeded their ceilings. The Saudis are now sending a message that they will not restrain output if others don't. A catalyst for the change, analysts say, is President Trump, who warmly courted Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman, as a commercial and strategic partner. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
