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OPEC Cuts in Place More than Enough: Naimi - ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive
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VIENNA (Reuters) – OPEC’s output curbs already in place were more than enough to balance the oil market and with the group’s adherence to them rising no more were needed, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told Reuters on Wednesday.

“If you make a material balance you will realize that a 4.2 million barrels per day cut is more than adequate with compliance moving in the right direction,” he said, referring to the cuts OPEC made since September.

The group agreed on Sunday not to deepen those cuts.

He said compliance with the cuts was around 80 percent in February and should be higher in March.

“With compliance rising there was no further need for additional cuts,” he said of OPEC’s Sunday decision.

Naimi was speaking on the sideline of an OPEC energy forum where fellow oil ministers warned of the danger to investment and future supply from producers posed by low oil prices.

“The oil price concern is for marginal producers,” he said. “If the world wants to see additional production capacity built the price needs to rise above what it is today.

“I believe marginal produces need a price of $60-75 a barrel,” he added.

Asharq Al-Awsat

Asharq Al-Awsat

Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities. Launched in London in 1978, Asharq Al-Awsat has established itself as the decisive publication on pan-Arab and international affairs, offering its readers in-depth analysis and exclusive editorials, as well as the most comprehensive coverage of the entire Arab world.

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