Opec and non-Opec producers will agree on a strategy in June to exit the production cuts agreement currently in place to rebalance the oil markets, the UAE energy minister said on Monday.
Oil producers agreed in Vienna at the end of November to extend output curbs of around 1.8 million barrels a day until the end of 2018, subject to review in June. The global oil deal, which came into effect in January, was due to expire end of March.
"There is a meeting in June and hopefully the market will be in a much better position for us to announce an exit strategy," Suhail Al Mazrouei said on the sidelines of a conference in Abu Dhabi.
His comments come a day after Kuwait's former oil minister Issam Al Marzooq told Bloomberg that Opec may consider an earlier exit to the production cuts slated to end by 2018, if the market rebalances by mid-year.
Mr Al Marzooq was replaced on Tuesday with Bakheet Al Rashidi, who headed state-owned Kuwait Petroleum International, in an emiri decree announced on Kuwait News Agency.
Mr Al Marzooq cited pressures from Russia - the largest producer outside of Opec - to exit the deal as soon as possible.
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Mr Al Mazrouei said it was premature to speculate on how the strategy to exit production cuts will be phased out among oil exporters. "That we will announce a strategy in the June meeting doesn't mean we'll exit in June. No one can tell what the strategy is prior to that meeting. It is unfair for anyone to predict but that is not going to be the truth because the truth is going to be seen in June," he said.
Rebalancing of the oil markets could happen in the first half or the second half of next year, Mr Al Mazrouei added.
"We're very optimistic about growth next year, both that of the world economy and growth in demand and .... about the markets balancing," he said.
Any exit deal is unlikely to take place before the end of 2018, according to Spencer Welch, director for oil markets and downstream at London-based IHS Markit.
"One of the main targets of the deal was to get oil inventories back to 5-year average levels. We think this is unlikely to be achieved by end 2018," said Mr Welch. "But if there is a clear exit plan, it does give assurance to the market that there won’t be a sudden gush of oil coming back in mid-2018."
Producers from within the exporters group led by Saudi Arabia and those outside led by Russia came to a historic agreement last year to cut production in a move that helped prices recover. Prices fell from US$100 a barrel highs in 2014 to just under $29 a barrel in the beginning of 2016 due to the oil glut and weak demand.
"The key question for ending the deal early is probably Russia who are concerned about oil price being too high and the market 'overheating', providing too much stimulation to increasing US production," said Mr Welch.
The price of Brent traded at $63.39 a barrel at 3:44pm Dubai time. It had reached a two-year high of $64.27 a barrel early November following disruptions caused to supply from Iraqi Kurdistan in the wake of a independence referendum in the semi-autonomous region.
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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The specs: 2018 Maxus T60
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Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
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Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
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Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.
The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
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• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
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• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
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