Ecuador May Not Quit OPEC
Ecuador may renege on its decision to quit its OPEC membership, according to anonymous sources cited by S&P Global Platts, which was supposed to take effect January 1, 2020.
Ecuador had announced its decision to quit the oil cartel in earlier October, at a time when the country declared a state of emergency as violent protests erupted over the end of fuel subsidies, but is now allegedly having second thoughts. Its membership cancelation would have saved Ecuador around $2 million dollars in the form of an OPEC membership fee.
This $2 million was likely an unpopular fee with the International Monetary Fund who loaned the struggling country more than $4 billion, and an unpopular fee with its citizens who were none too kind about being asked to forgo the generous fuel subsidies at the IMF’s prodding, Oil Price reported.
But Ecuador quickly reinstated the subsidies due to the prolonged violence. The public now assuaged, OPEC’s $2 million fee may be a less bitter pill to swallow.
Ecuador’s new energy minister, who was named just a couple weeks ago, has apparently not confirmed whether he will attend this week’s OPEC meeting held in Vienna to discuss the most important matter—oil production cuts and whether they should be extended, deepened, or neither.
Either way, Ecuador’s compliance to its OPEC quota has been less than fastidious. A smaller member, Ecuador was tasked with producing 510,000 bpd or less. October—the month during which protests disrupted its oil production—was the only month this year that it managed to adhere completely (114%) to its assigned oil production cuts, while it failed to adhere to the cuts in each of the nine earlier months.
source: Financial Tribune
Top News
Glencore in talks to sell Philippine copper smelting unit
Rasul Khalife Soltani, Secretary of the Iranian Steel Producers Association on the sidelines of the 1403 Steel Symposium:
Mobarakeh steel is producing green steel through scrap recycling
India’s record gold import said to be due to calculation error
Norilsk Nickel plans to sell all it produces in 2025
Volkswagen buys 9.9% of Patriot Battery Metals for $48 million
Sibanye raises $500m via metals streaming deal with Franco-Nevada
Norge Mining acquires Europe’s largest natural graphite producer
Mercuria partners with Zambia on metals trading venture
Aluminum price falls to one-month low in wider commodity slump
Lure of Anglo’s copper mines could test BHP’s spending resolve
Copper giant Peru foresees another production plateau in 2025
Iron ore price weakens as Australia flags return to sub-$100 prices
Nickel price hits 4-year low as gloom offsets potential Indonesia cuts
Mercuria partners with Zambia on metals trading venture
Sibanye raises $500m via metals streaming deal with Franco-Nevada
Triple Flag to acquire royalty on Tres Quebradas lithium project
Volkswagen buys 9.9% of Patriot Battery Metals for $48 million
Aluminum price falls to one-month low in wider commodity slump
India’s record gold import said to be due to calculation error
Lure of Anglo’s copper mines could test BHP’s spending resolve
Iron ore price weakens as Australia flags return to sub-$100 prices
Nickel price hits 4-year low as gloom offsets potential Indonesia cuts
Sibanye raises $500m via metals streaming deal with Franco-Nevada
Triple Flag to acquire royalty on Tres Quebradas lithium project
Volkswagen buys 9.9% of Patriot Battery Metals for $48 million
Aluminum price falls to one-month low in wider commodity slump
India’s record gold import said to be due to calculation error
Glencore in talks to sell Philippine copper smelting unit
