Gulf oil producers to maintain output within OPEC target in July- sources

By Rania El Gamal
DUBAI, June 20 (Reuters) - Gulf OPEC producers will keep
their July oil production within their OPEC target despite the
current global supply cut pact expiring at end of June, OPEC
sources said on Thursday, a signal that the Gulf exporters are
reluctant to boost supply.
Saudi Arabia, the top global oil exporter's crude output in
June will be around the same level of its May production, and
its July output will remain within its obligation under the
OPEC-led supply cut deal, the sources said.
Saudi oil output in May was 9.67 million bpd, according to
OPEC figures. Riyadh has been pumping below its 10.3 million bpd
target under the OPEC pact for the past months.
Key OPEC producers Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are
also keeping their output in July within the OPEC target and
will not be raising their production, the sources added.
In May, Kuwait pumped 2.709 million bpd, and the UAE's oil
production was 3.055 million bpd - both below their OPEC's
supply target.
The moves indicate that the powerful Gulf oil producers
block wants to keep the existing output cut by OPEC unchanged
for the second half of the year.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus
Russia and other producers, an alliance known as OPEC+, have
implemented a deal since Jan. 1 to cut output by 1.2 million
barrels per day (bpd) for six months.
"All the talk now is about an extension of the same cuts, or
a rollover, until the end of the year," one OPEC source said.
OPEC meets next in Vienna on July 1 to decide on its output
policy, and will meet with its non-OPEC allies, led by Russia,
on July 2.
But Russia still has not said whether it would agree to keep
the existing cuts in place or push to increase in the second
half of 2019, the sources said.
"Russia is the only country that is yet to decide," another
OPEC source said.
Russia has been under pressure from its domestic oil
companies to let them pump more.
Iran and Venezuela, both OPEC founding members, are under
U.S. sanctions that have hit their oil production and exports.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called on Saudi Arabia and
OPEC to boost output to compensate for the reduction in Iranian
oil supply, but Saudi sources say that though the kingdom will
always respond to its customers needs, there has been no demand
for extra crude to justify them increasing their production.