Saudi Arabia plans to cut oil exports amid slide in prices

Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, will cut its exports of crude oil in December by 500,000 barrels per day, the kingdom's energy minister said on Sunday, in an apparent bid to shore up global prices.

Khaled al-Falih was speaking in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, on the sidelines of a ministerial committee meeting that oversees oil output from major producers including Russia and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

"The OPEC may need to cut production because oil markets may witness an oversupply anew next year," al-Falih said.

Although the ministerial committee did not go as far as recommending such a move, it concurred with the Saudi minister's analysis.

In a statement, the committee said it expects global oil output to rise in 2019, while the dampening of economic growth could hurt demand.

Ahead of a full meeting of 25 OPEC and non-OPEC countries on December 6-7 in Vienna, technical experts will draw up scenarios regarding "options on new 2019 production adjustments, which may require new strategies to balance the market," the committee added.

The announced Saudi output cut will reduce global oil supplies by nearly 0.5 per cent, according to OPEC production data.

In October, Saudi Arabia increased its oil production to about 10.7 million barrels per day (bpd), compared to 9.9 million bpd in May.

Sunday's meeting came amid a drop in oil prices, rekindling fears of a renewed dramatic fall in prices reminiscent of the 2014 plunge.

In recent months, US President Donald Trump has pushed oil producers such as Saudi Arabia to increase their production in order to keep prices down.

Trump has noted that as part of his campaign against Iran, including renewed sanctions, there would be less oil on global markets.

He has called on OPEC, a cartel of crude oil producers, to make up the difference.

However, fears about supply shortages were dispelled when Washington announced last Monday that it will allow several major economies, including China, Japan, India and South Korea, to buy Iranian oil despite the embargo.

Iran is a regional rival of Saudi Arabia, but both are key members of OPEC.

Tehran's regional activity is a source of concern for both Saudi Arabia and the allied Trump administration.