Alexander Dyukov, the head of Russian oil major Gazprom Neft, said on Saturday that there was a slight surplus on the global oil market.

He also said that the new oil supply cuts, implemented by the OPEC+ group of leading oil producers from the start of January, will balance the market.

Last November, OPEC+ agreed to voluntary output cuts totalling about 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first quarter of this year led by Saudi Arabia rolling over a 1 million bpd voluntary reduction.

OPEC+ will hold a meeting of a key ministerial panel next Thursday. The group’s sources said that it will likely decide its oil production levels for April and beyond in the coming weeks.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency, which advises oil consuming countries, has said that with conflict in the Middle East raising concern over supply – barring significant disruptions to flows – the market looked reasonably well supplied in 2024 and a surplus could emerge if OPEC and its allies unwind output cuts as scheduled in the second quarter.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin, Editing by William Maclean)