RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s voluntary oil cuts in opposition to the OPEC+ increase earlier this year prevented prices falling below $50 a barrel, a new report has said.
The report, issued by the UK-based Oxford Foundation, found that the Saudi decision prevented high levels of demand uncertainty and led to market stability.
Research indicated that the Kingdom achieved higher sale prices following its announcement of the reduction in January, which took effect this month and will last through March.
“The daily price model, based on the market sentiment analysis index, indicates that Saudi Arabia’s announcement in January was the main trigger of a rise in price by $4.7 per barrel, which pushed prices to $55 per barrel,” the report said.
It also warned that treating Russia as a “special actor” in the oil alliance would have negative effects on the OPEC+ agreement.
The recent rise in oil price might boost the movement of drilling rigs and quickly revive US shale oil production, the report added.
