Oil output deal maybe extended if needed, says Al Falih

OPEC members may extend production cuts if oil stockpiles remained above the five-year average, Saudi Arabia’s minister of energy, Khalid Al Falih, told Bloomberg in an interview on Thursday.

OPEC and its partners are “fully committed” to curbing supply, Al-Falih said. He said that any lags in compliance are “par for the course”.

“Some are trying to iron out the process of controlling production, which they’ve never done before,” he said. “I believe in the sincerity of their effort.”

The minister said he was looking for signs that the market is confident about the future before deciding whether to extend the supply deal. “We want to signal to them that we’re going to do what it takes to bring the industry back to a healthy situation,” he said.

OPEC and non-OPEC members agreed last December to cut crude output as part of efforts to tackle the global supply glut and boost oil prices. But the price recovery is under pressure from the high inventory levels.

A Reuters poll of market analysts also indicated that the cartel will need to continue with its curbs on oil production.