The record amount, 9.7 million barrels a day, represents 10 percent of the global supply. Sources are telling Reuters effective cuts could amount to as much as 20 percent.
The group known as OPEC+ agreed to allow Mexico to cut only 100,000 barrels a month, a sticking point for an accord initially reached Friday after a marathon video conference involving 23 nations. The agreement was reached just hours before Asian markets are set to reopen on Monday as international benchmark Brent crude traded at just over $31 a barrel.
The information was shared by other countries while the Saudi-owned satellite channel Al-Arabiya showed the moment that Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, a son of King Salman, agreed to the deal. “I go with the consent, so I agree,” the prince said, chuckling, drawing a round of applause from those on the video conference call.
“The big Oil Deal with OPEC+ is done. This will save hundreds of thousands of energy jobs in the United States,” Trump wrote on Twitter, thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi King Salman for pushing the deal through. “I just spoke to them… Great deal for all,” Trump said.
Oil prices plunged this year as the market reeled from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which depressed demand amid a worldwide economic shutdown. It didn’t help that Russia and Saudi Arabia choose to engage in a price war, driving crude prices to historic lows.
Even with a cut of 10 to 15 million barrels a day, the coronavirus pandemic has devastated the oil industry in the U.S., which pumps more crude oil than any other country. In the first quarter alone, oil prices fell more than at any point in history, plunging 66 percent.
