Amid rising Omicron cases, OPEC countries will increase oil production

Hope Omicron does not reduce demand

From February, crude production will increase by four lakh barrels on a daily basis

FRANKFURT: OPEC and its oil-producing nations today decided to pour more crude oil into the global economy. OPEC countries have expressed hope that fuel demand and travel volumes will remain the same despite increasing cases of Omicron variants of the Covid-19. Saudi Arabia-led OPEC has said it will increase crude production by four million barrels a day on a daily basis from February.

Crude oil prices plummeted when Omicron cases first surfaced. However, since then prices have improved and the market has stabilized. Analysts believe that vehicle traffic and aviation activity show that Omicron cases will see a dramatic decline and demand for crude will not fall sharply.

It may be mentioned that the oil producing countries had significantly reduced their crude production in the year 2020. Demand for crude oil fell sharply at the time due to Corona lockdowns and travel restrictions. On November 23, the United States and other oil-consuming countries announced the release of large quantities of oil from strategic reserves. The decision was made to curb rising energy prices.