Abu Dhabi, (Business News Report)|| Japan is pressuring the UAE to increase OPEC oil production, as pressure increases to pump larger quantities in order to calm the markets.
Major countries are pressuring OPEC to produce more oil, which will maintain the stability of the markets.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry announced in a statement that Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi “would like you to contribute to the stabilization of the global crude oil market through further supply of crude oil.”
The statement was released after Hayashi met Minister Sultan Al Jaber, head of the UAE state energy company ADNOC, in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry statement stated that Jaber expressed his “strong” desire to support Japan, including through the stability of the global oil market. The UAE government has not yet commented on the meeting.
The United States and European countries have called on members of OPEC especially the UAE and Saudi Arabia to increase crude oil production after prices rose above $100 a barrel, which jumped due to the high demand caused by the recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic, and most recently due to the attack Russia over Ukraine.
OPEC has so far resisted those calls, declaring that higher oil prices are more due to geopolitical tension than the imbalance between supply and demand.
The countries of the organization entered into a partnership with other producers, including Russia, in what is known as the “OPEC+” alliance. The Saudis and Emiratis said they were committed to the alliance.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday. He could not provide any guarantees that he had convinced their leaders to change their minds about oil production.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck is expected to arrive in Abu Dhabi later Sunday for talks with Jaber and UAE Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei.
OPEC+ alliance is reviving oil supplies to the markets, after large cuts at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. But traders and analysts say that “OPEC +” monthly increases of 400,000 barrels per day are too few to reduce prices.
Moreover, the countries of the coalition are struggling to meet these pledges in full, with a number of members experiencing production disruptions.
