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Kuwait Petroleum Corp Says Committed to OPEC Oil Output Cut | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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A table with OPEC logo is seen during the presentation of OPEC’s 2013 World Oil Outlook in Vienna , November 7, 2013. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger


State-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) said on Wednesday it was committed to an oil output cut agreed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in November.

KPC said in a statement carried by Kuwait’s state news agency KUNA that it had notified its clients of the production cuts from the start of January, saying they will be in effect for the whole of the first quarter of 2017.

Under the agreement reached in Vienna on Nov. 30 to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day, Kuwait would cut its production by 131,000 bpd.

Oil edged higher on Wednesday on expectations that U.S. crude oil inventories are falling and on signs that oil producers are willing to stick to agreed output cuts that came into effect this week.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures were up 49 cents at $55.96 a barrel by 0924 GMT. The contract had reached a fresh 18-month high in the previous session, but a strong dollar has shaved off most of those gains since.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $52.82 per barrel, up 49 cents from the last settlement.

“Positive equities and gains in industrial metals this morning, as well as expectations that U.S. crude oil stocks will show a decline … are ingredients helping to drive a slight gain in Brent crude this morning,” said Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB Markets in Oslo.