Demand for oil is growing as economies have taken steps to reopen, said Ministers from the OPEC cartel and have agreed to allow more oil to flow from the taps. They could further revisit the decision in an emergency meeting if there are serious lockdowns that further reduce oil demands.
On Wednesday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other nations agreed to ease up on cuts and they chose to stick with a production schedule that they had crafted in a previous meeting which allows participating countries to produce more oil in August, than they have produced in the past few months. Algeria’s minister of energy, during the meeting. “Oil market balance is progressively improving… But risks and uncertainties are huge, be they related to the pandemic or to the economic consequences.”
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which has 13 member states and, is largely dominated by oil-rich Saudi Arabia. There are additional countries that are involved in the so-called OPEC Plus group, which has been led by Russia. Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, secretary general of OPEC, during the meeting said, “We need to remember that strength, collaboration and positive outcomes, come only through continuous effort and struggle from each and every participant.”
The cases of COVID-19 are rising rapidly in the U.S. and 14 states have reported higher number of cases. U.S. consume about 45% of the nation’s oil. Meanwhile, oil companies in countries which are not a part of OPEC have also announced plans to increase their production as well.

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