Worried by a drop in oil prices and rising supplies, OPEC and non-OPEC countries such as Russia agreed in December to return to production cuts in 2019.
The producers meet on April 17-18 to review the pact.
OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo, in comments to Reuters, did not rule out more action if industrialized nation stocks continued to rise above the five-year average.
“We remain focused on the supply-demand balance,” Barkindo told Reuters TV at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “Our challenge is to maintain supply-demand balance.”
“We have seen inventories rising beyond the five-year average. A couple of months ago we have seen a deficit. We intend to ensure stocks remain within the five-year average.”
A recovery in oil prices this year will boost hopes among producers that the deal to cut supplies, which began on Jan. 1, is working. Oil has risen to above $60 a barrel, after a dip below $50 at the end of 2018.
But oil stocks in OECD nations - used as a yardstick by the producers to gauge the effectiveness of their supply cuts - were above the five-year average in November. The producers, known as OPEC+, pledged to lower output by 1.2 million barrels per day from Jan. 1. OPEC’s share is 800,000 bpd.
Barkindo said producers were making significant oil production cuts to avoid a build-up during the first quarter, and the oil market had reacted well.