KUWAIT: Kuwait backs all efforts aimed at restoring stability to the global oil market, said a minister yesterday, ahead of marathon talks OPEC and its allies will hold to decide whether to extend output cuts beyond their March expiry. The March 5-6 talks will also hammer out the best strategy possible to restore stability and balance to the global oil market, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Dr Khaled Al-Fadhel said as he departed the country en route to Vienna for the meeting.

The spread of the novel coronavirus around the world has sent shockwaves through the global oil market, which is underprepared to deal with the economic ramifications of the rapidly spreading disease, added the minister. As the coronavirus outbreak stokes global worries over oil demand, some major OPEC members are considering bigger output cuts of up to one million barrels per day (bpd) than previously suggested, he said.

As a key member of OPEC's monitoring committee, known as the JMMC, Kuwait is fully committed to stability and balance in the global oil market, the minister highlighted. OPEC and its allies had agreed to cut output by 1.7 million bpd in a deal that runs until the end of this month. - KUNA