Petroleum industry

Oil price stability is needed for predictability in the global oil market, and volatility in oil prices must end immediately, Turkey's energy and natural resources minister said on April 11. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on April 10 the situation at globals oil markets, and the coronavirus outbreak over phone.

OPEC and its allies agreed early on April 10 to lower their collective crude oil production by 10 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of the second quarter of 2020.

Saudi Arabia-led OPEC and Russia-led non-OPEC oil-producing nations started their 9th (Extraordinary) OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial meeting via webinar on April 9 at 1445GMT.

The low oil price environment in the global market is dragging the Middle Eastern oil-producing countries to collapse, whose economies are strongly dependent on crude oil production and exports.

Oil prices extended losses in Asian trade on March 30 and languished at 17-year lows, with the coronavirus crisis escalating around the world and no end in sight to a vicious price war.    

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate fell 5.3 percent to trade at $20 a barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude was off 6.5 percent at $23.    

The government's protection measures have led to a 20 percent drop in demand for gasoline from last year, while the market estimates that, as the measures get stricter, the reduction will reach 40-50 percent in April.

Following Russia's refusal to cut oil output faced with a coronavirus-fuelled slump in demand, its alliance with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has been thrown into doubt, as has the cartel's influence on prices.

Oil prices on Monday start with a collapse of 35 - 40% after the OPEC + meeting, which ended last Friday with Russia's exit from the oil restriction deal, according to trade data.

The signals came on Friday, with more hopes of finding a way out then.

Oil prices plummeted around 30 percent on March 9 after Saudi Arabia slashed its official selling prices and set plans for a dramatic increase in crude production next month, starting a price war even as spread of the coronavirus erodes global demand growth.

OPEC agreed on March 5 to cut oil output by an extra 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) in the second quarter of 2020 to support prices that have been hit by the coronavirus outbreak but made its action conditional on Russia and others joining in.