(Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates favors an oil production increase and will be encouraging OPEC to consider higher output, CNN and the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing a statement from the UAE’s ambassador to Washington.
“We favor production increases and will be encouraging OPEC to consider higher production levels,” Ambassador Yousuf Al Otaiba said, the FT reported.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies including Russia, known as OPEC+, have been restoring 5.8 million barrels per day in production cuts over the last several months, with another 400,000 bpd due in April, to restore supply cuts dating to the 2020 pandemic outbreak.
However, the group has resisted calls from the United States and allies to ramp up output as oil prices have surged to more than $120 per barrel.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Chizu Nomiyama)
