Efforts by OPEC and its allies to balance the global supply and demand of oil aren’t complete because crude inventories continue to rise, according to United Arab Emirates Oil Minister Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei.
“The job is not complete,” Al Mazrouei told reporters in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. “We are still seeing some inventory buildup and we need to attend to it.”
Saudi Arabia, Russia and other oil producers in a global coalition are meeting in Jeddah this weekend to consider whether they’ll need to continue keeping supplies restrained during the second half of the year. While U.S. President Donald Trump’s squeeze on Iran’s oil exports threatens to cause a shortage, the producers are wary of opening the taps too soon. Global supplies are also strained by a crisis over contaminated Russian crude and simmering geopolitical tensions from Venezuela to Libya.
