OPEC’s Declaration of Cooperation

By Ayobami Adedinni
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Azerbaijan, Kingdom of Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, Republic of Sudan, Republic of South Sudan.
Recalling the rights of peoples and nations to permanent sovereignty over their natural wealth and resources;
Taking into account current oil market conditions and short- to medium-term prospects;
Recognising the need for joint cooperation of the oil exporting countries, to achieve a lasting stability in the oil market in the interest of oil producers and consumers;
Recalling that OPEC Member Countries met on 30th November 2016 and decided to undertake a production adjustment of 1.2 million barrels a day (mb/d) for six (6) months, effective from 1st January 2017;
Recalling that on 10th December 2016, Azerbaijan, Kingdom of Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, Republic of Sudan, and Republic of South Sudan (participating non-OPEC producing countries in the Declaration of Cooperation), in their desire to achieve oil market stability in the interest of all producers and consumers, proposed to voluntarily adjust their oil production by 558 thousand barrels a day (tb/d), effective from 1st January 2017 for six (6) months, which took into account prevailing market conditions and prospects;
Recalling that OPEC and the participating non-OPEC producing countries on 25th May 2017 amended the Declaration of Cooperation to extend for a further nine (9) months commencing on 1st July 2017;
Noting that OPEC Member Countries at the 173rd Meeting of the Conference considered that the current supply and demand fundamentals and its immediate prospects called for a further amendment to the Declaration of Cooperation of 25th May 2017 in order to fulfil the objective of rebalancing the market, despite the market improvement so far;
Noting that OPEC Member Countries, in agreeing to their above referenced decision, confirmed their commitment to a stable and balanced oil market and underscored the importance of the broader participation of other oil producing countries in the market balancing efforts;
Noting that OPEC and the participating non-OPEC producing countries considered the 6th report and the recommendations of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), which considered several scenarios presented by the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) regarding the extension of the Declaration of Cooperation;
Noting that OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries accepted the recommendation of the JMMC, composed of Algeria, Kuwait, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and two participating non-OPEC countries –the  Russian Federation and Oman–, chaired by Kuwait, and co-chaired by the Russian Federation, and decided that the JMMC should continue monitoring conformity levels, as well as market conditions and its immediate prospects, and recommend further actions, if deemed necessary; and furthermore, that the JTC, supported by the OPEC Secretariat, shall continue to provide its monthly technical assistance to the Bodies of the Declaration of Cooperation;
Recognising the desire of OPEC and the participating non-OPEC countries to achieve oil market stability in the interest of all oil producers and consumers;
Recognising the importance of conforming to the content of the Declaration of Cooperation;
Convinced of the necessity to jointly cooperate to help stabilize the oil market;
OPEC and the aforementioned non-OPEC producing countries have reached the following commitment:
 
OPEC maintains its decisions made on 30th November 2017;
 
The Declaration of Cooperation is hereby amended to take effect for the whole year of 2018 from January to December 2018, while pledging full and timely conformity of OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries in accordance with voluntary agreed production adjustments.
 
In view of the uncertainties associated mainly with supply and, to some extent, demand growth it is intended that in June 2018, the opportunity of further adjustment actions will be considered based on prevailing market conditions and the progress achieved towards re-balancing of the oil market at that time.
 
Azerbaijan, Kingdom of Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, Republic of Sudan, Republic of South Sudan maintain to continue to adjust their respective oil production, voluntarily or through managed decline.
 
Pledge to fulfil their full commitment under this Declaration of Cooperation, individually and collectively;
 
To strengthen their cooperation through a dynamic and transparent framework, including regular monitoring, joint analyses and outlooks for a sustainable market stability in the medium- to long-term, for the benefit of producers and consumers;
 
To support the extension of the mandate of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) composed of Algeria, Kuwait, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and two participating non-OPEC countries of the Russian Federation and Oman, chaired by Saudi Arabia, co-chaired by the Russian Federation, and assisted by the Joint Technical Committee at the OPEC Secretariat, to closely review the status of and conformity with the Declaration of Cooperation and report to the OPEC – non OPEC Conference;
 
To ensure continuity and proactive cooperation through established regular meetings at technical and ministerial levels.
 
 
The foregoing record represents the understanding reached between OPEC and the Heads of Delegation of Azerbaijan, Kingdom of Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, Republic of Sudan, Republic of South Sudan upon the matters referred to therein.