UAE, Kazakhstan and Iraq confirm commitment to OPEC output cut

Kazakhstan, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) all affirmed their commitment to comply with the global crude oil output cut by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) during a meeting with industry officials in Abu Dhabi.

The three countries, which have lagged in their implementation of a deal to cut production, all expressed their full support for the system to monitor the cutbacks “in order to achieve the gload reaching full conformity”, OPEC said.

Talks co-chaired by Kuwait and Russia were scheduled after several nations faltered in their pledges to reduce output. Twenty-four producers, from among the OPEC and beyond, agreed to cut production late last year in a bid to end a global glut.

Oil prices have lost 8% this year on concern the agreement is failing to drain the world’s bloated oil stockpiles. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih promised last month to intensify pressure on cheating countries.

Iraq and the U.A.E. said at the meeting that OPEC’s estimates of their production – based on data from external sources – were at fault for any apparent failures to comply, according to two sources close to the confidential discussions who asked not to be identified.

Iraqi compliance slumped to 29% in June, its lowest so far, while the UAE made just 60% of its cuts, according to data from the International Energy Agency.

Iraq has complained that the estimates OPEC uses to monitor compliance are inaccurate, and that it has actually made the full reduction required.

Kazakhstan, rather than reduce its output as promised, has steadily increased it, with the expansion of its Kashagan oilfield.

The agreement, which came into effect at the start of the year, brings together OPEC and non-OPEC nations in an effort to take as much as 1.8 million barrels of oil a day off the market.

Russia and Kuwait are two of the five nations that sit on the board that oversees the implementation of supply curbs. Saudi Arabia, which currently holds OPEC’s rotating presidency, also attended the meeting. The panel’s conclusions will be discussed when the full technical committee next meets, on August 21 in Vienna, OPEC said.