The United States would like to see oil production increase, including from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the top official of American diplomacy on energy issues told AFP on Monday.
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“As the world’s economies recover” from the coronavirus pandemic, “(oil) consumption will increase,” explained the US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Energy and the Environment , Jose Fernandez, on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference, in Houston (Texas).
“Therefore, we would like to see supply match demand,” Fernandez added.
“We would like more production” of crude globally, including from OPEC, “that is, OPEC and its allies in the OPEC deal,” the official said.
OPEC+ decided at the beginning of October to reduce its production by two million barrels per day and has not changed this level since.
The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark American variety, is now worth about a third less than a year ago, in the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
But it is more than 40% higher during 2019 at the same time, and almost 30% compared to 2018.
Between the beginning of September 2021 and the beginning of January 2023, the government of President Joe Biden drew on the American strategic reserves (SPR) nearly 250 million barrels, put up for sale on the market, to relieve prices.
The American head of state regularly pleaded last year for an increase in the volumes produced by OPEC, but the cartel has not raised its quotas for six months.
In February, the organization’s crude production, as estimated by Archyde.com, was nearly two million barrels per day lower than in February 2019.
OPEC forecasts demand growth of 2.32 million barrels per day in the year 2023 compared to last year.