Al-Falih recommends driving down oil inventories, says supply plentiful

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih on Sunday recommended "gently" driving oil inventories down at a time of plentiful global supplies and that OPEC would not make hasty decisions about output ahead of a June meeting.

"Overall, the market is in a delicate situation," Falih told reporters before a ministerial panel meeting of top OPEC and non-member oil producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Also read: Al-Falih says no oil shortage, but OPEC ready to act if needed

While there is concern about supply disruptions, inventories are rising and the market should see a "comfortable supply situation in the weeks and months to come", he said.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), of which Saudi Arabia is de facto leader, would have more data at its next meeting in late June to help it reach the best decision on output, Al-Falih said.

"It is critical that we don’t make hasty decisions – given the conflicting data, the complexity involved, and the evolving situation," he said, describing the outlook as "quite foggy" due in part to a trade dispute between the United States and China.

"But I want to assure you that our group has always done the right thing in the interests of both consumers and producers; and we will continue to do so," he added.

OPEC, Russia and other non-OPEC producers, an alliance known as OPEC+, agreed to reduce output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1 for six months, a deal designed to stop inventories building up and weakening prices.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said the ministerial panel had recommended continued monitoring of the market due to uncertainties and that recommendations would be made in June.