Omani oil minister sees prices staying in US$65-75 range until year-end

Dubai

OMANI energy minister Mohammed bin Hamad al-Rumhy said he expected global oil prices to stay in a range between US$65 and US$75 a barrel until the end of the year, the state-run Oman News Agency reported on Saturday. He was also quoted as saying that Oman remained committed to the Opec+ agreement until the end of 2019.

Under the accord reached in December 2018, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, along with Russia and other non-Opec producers - an alliance known as Opec+ - agreed to reduce oil supply by 1.2 million barrels per day from Jan 1 for six months.

The Opec+ alliance was formed in 2017. Since its inception, oil prices have doubled to more than US$60 per barrel, mainly as a result of a series of production cuts by its members.

The official selling price for Oman crude in May will rise by US$2.50 to US$66.98 a barrel, the highest in five months, Reuters calculations based on data from the Dubai Mercantile Exchange showed on Friday.

However, Saudi Arabia is having a hard time convincing Russia to stay much longer in the Opec-led pact, and Moscow may agree only to a three-month extension. Should Russia pull out of the latest deal on cutting output, oil prices would drop.

Separately, Mr Al-Rumhy said the Oman Oil Co was conducting a feasibility study regarding taking a 30 per cent stake in a new oil refinery project on Sri Lanka's south coast. The project will be Sri Lanka's first new refinery in 52 years. REUTERS