Ecuador has become the first country to publicly admit it will not meet OPEC’s production curbs, saying it needs to pump more oil to address its fiscal deficit.
The South American country’s promised cut of 26,000 barrels of oil a day is a tiny drop in the 1.8m b/d that the cartel recently agreed to curb until early 2018, but the decision is still the first crack in the deal’s unity, the UK Guardian reports.
“There’s a need for funds for the fiscal treasury, hence we’ve taken the decision to gradually increase output,” oil minister Carlos Perez told local television, adding he did not think the decision would have a big impact on OPEC’s output.
However, experts said the move could embolden other countries to rethink their commitment to the cuts.
OPEC producers and non-members including Russia extended but did not deepen production cuts at the end of May, and the oil price subsequently fell by 8% in June.
Recent figures from the cartel show that OPEC production in June was up 1.2% on May, as countries including Libya and Nigeria, which are not covered by the deal, pumped more oil.
Compliance with the club’s curbs has also slipped from 95% in May to 78% in June, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency. Historically, during previous OPEC production curbs, compliance has weakened over time.
Ecuador said it would only be able to cut 60% of its agreed reduction because of its considerable budget deficit. “We are not meeting the quota imposed on us because of the obvious needs the country has,” Perez said.
Despite the news from Ecuador, on Tuesday the price of a barrel of oil was up slightly at $48.67, after new figures showed demand from Chinese refineries up and a count of rigs in the US showed they were flat last week, having previously risen for several months. In the first five months of 2017, the price of oil largely sat between $50 and $55 a barrel.
