OPEC+ Output Cuts Likely to Be Four Times Less Than Flagged - US Special Envoy

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Cuts in OPEC+ oil production are likely to be four times less than announced, as they represent a political move rather than a force that could impact the market, US Special Envoy for Energy Affairs Amos Hochstein said on Sunday.

In early October, OPEC+ unanimously agreed to decrease oil production by two million barrels per day starting in November in response to uncertainty in global energy markets.

"They say, 'Well, we're not actually going to cut 2 million. We're just going to cut 900, and then you look a little deeper, and it's really just about 500.' So the impact on the market is not going to be as significant, so this was more of a big political statement that OPEC has made," Hochstein told US broadcaster CBS.

Hochstein also noted that global oil prices were gradually cooling down.

"When I was here last, in June, we were at $120 a barrel of oil... Today we're at $85," the envoy said.

The Biden administration has condemned the OPEC+ decision to cut oil production as a boon to Russia, whose energy market the collective West targeted with sanctions in response to the special military operation in Ukraine.

Saudi Arabia has rejected US accusations that it was aligning itself with Russia, stressing that the decision to slash oil production was to stabilize the global market amid declining demand caused by a slowing economy around the world.