By John Ikani
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies are opposed to the rise of crude oil prices to to $100 per barrel.
Disclosing this during an interview with bloomberg on Tuesday, Oil Minister of Oman, Mohammed Al Rumhi said the opposition was a part of measures geared towards preventing global energy demand from overheating.
The concerns expressed by the oil cartel and its allies comes as Brent crude prices have rallied over $84 so far this year.
OPEC+ have been restoring output at a level of 400,000 BPD, although it has been faced with multiple roadblocks from individual member nations.
What the oil minister is saying
Speaking with Bloomberg, Rumhi said, “We’re very careful at OPEC+, we will look at each month as we go.
“But so far, I think 400,000 is good because demand is increasing and we want to make sure that the market is not overheating. We don’t want to see $100 a barrel. The world is not ready for that.”
The Omani Minister added that “Over the past five years investments have been limited in the industry and we’re paying the price for it now.”
He warned that crude oil’s rally is raising inflationary fears in many consuming countries right now, which he says might hurt the economic recovery from the pandemic, citing global production crunch and reduced spending.