EL AISSAMI: VENEZUELA’S OBJECTIVE IS TO ENSURE LASTING STABILITY OF THE GLOBAL OIL MARKET

The vice president for the Economic Area and Minister of the Popular Power for Petroleum, Tareck El Aissami, said on Monday that, “Venezuela continues to defend a more enduring stability of the oil market and subscribes to the decisions of OPEC + for 2021 , to support in this 13th OPEC + Ministerial meeting, the convenience of deferring the gradual increase of 0.5 million barrels per day corresponding to February ”.

“This measure guarantees a faster drainage of commercial inventories. Supply levels continue to be below the demand for oil, so we must be cautious, “added El Aissami during his speech at the 13th OPEC + Ministerial Meeting, held from Vienna, Austria, via videoconference.

El Aissami said that Venezuela considers that the most important objective “is to ensure a more lasting stability of the global oil market, taking into consideration that the demand for energy is still fragile, affected by the health crisis that persists with the outbreaks of the virus, in the Uncertainty about the effects of vaccines in the medium term and the Chinese New Year are variables that could impact, without a doubt, the stability achieved so far ”.

In this sense, he reiterated the disposition of Venezuela that “is firmly committed to the search for strategies that guarantee a virtuous and sustainable balance, which allows to continue to erode inventories, and consequently to gradually increase production. This harmony is necessary to sustain a stronger foundation that contributes to the long-term stability of the world energy market.

“From Venezuela we reaffirm the strength of the Declaration of Cooperation to overcome the difficult circumstances that we face in 2020. We must continue to guarantee a virtuous balance in the oil market,” El Aissami wrote through his Twitter account, @TareckPSUV.

The meeting is chaired by the Chairman of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), Minister of Petroleum of Saudi Arabia, His Royal Highness, Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Salmán Al Saud and the co-chair of the JMMC, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, HE Alexander Novak; in the company of the president of the OPEC 2021 Conference, Angolan Minister of Petroleum, HE Diamantino Azevedo; and the Secretary General of OPEC, HE Mohammad Barkindo.

The heads of delegation of members of OPEC countries such as Saudi Arabia, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Kuwait, Nigeria and Venezuela participate in this meeting.

Kazakhstan and Russia are present for the Non-OPEC countries, and OPEC Angola as a guest, in its capacity as President of the OPEC Conference for the year 2021.