Saudi Arabia extends voluntary cut

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday extended its one million barrel per day (bpd) voluntary crude oil production cut until the end of the year 2023.

An official source at the Ministry of Energy announced that the Kingdom would continue with its voluntary oil output cut of one million bpd for the month of November and until the end of the year and that it would review the decision again next month.

The Kingdom’s production for November and December will be approximately 9 million bpd, the ministry said in a statement, carried by the Saudi Press Agency. “This voluntary cut decision will be reviewed next month to consider deepening the cut or increasing production,” the statement said.

Saudi Arabia first implemented the additional voluntary cut in July and has since extended it on a monthly basis. The cut adds to 1.66 million barrels per day of other voluntary crude output declines that some members of OPEC have put in place until the end of 2024.

The source also explained that this reduction is in addition to the voluntary reduction that the Kingdom had previously announced in April 2023 and which extends until the end of December 2024.

Russia also pledged to voluntarily reduce exports by 500,000 barrels per day in August and by 300,000 barrels per day in September. The cuts are described as voluntary because they are outside of OPEC Plus official policy, which commits every nonexempt member to a share of production quotas.

The ministry source confirmed that this additional voluntary reduction comes to strengthen the precautionary efforts made by OPEC Plus countries with the aim of supporting the stability and balance of oil markets.

 

 

Saudi Arabian embassy in Sudan attacked

The attacks by armed groups on the diplomatic missions of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in Sudan are a cause of grave concern. It is believed that these attacks have been made by the proxies of those who are annoyed by the role being played by Saudi Arabia to end animosities among the Muslim countries.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly condemned the sabotage and tampering carried out by some armed groups in the Kingdom’s embassy building and its annexes in Khartoum, capital of Sudan, on Wednesday.

The ministry also voiced its denunciation over the sabotage of the residence and properties of Saudi staff working in the embassy, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.

The ministry also expressed the Kingdom’s total rejection of all forms of violence and sabotage on diplomatic missions and representations. It also stressed the importance of confronting these armed groups that are trying to undermine the return of security and stability to Sudan and its brotherly people.

The Sudanese army confirmed last month that the circumstances of the war prevented the security forces from providing protection for diplomatic missions, refusing to hold it responsible for the looting of embassies in Sudan.

The army added in a statement that accusing the Rapid Support Forces of attacking embassies is based on reports and eyewitness accounts.

Meanwhile, the Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the headquarters of the Bahraini embassy and the ambassador’s house in the Sudanese capital had been stormed and vandalized by an armed group.

The ministry renewed its call to the Sudanese parties to give priority to wisdom and the supreme national interest, and to respond seriously to the Saudi-American initiative to halt military operations.