OPEC May Need Help to End the Global Glut of Oil
- Algiers deal aimed at fixing unprecedented oil-inventory glut
- Even the maximum cut OPEC’s considering wouldn’t achieve this
OPEC Output Cut May Not Drain Supply
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Even if OPEC defies a skeptical market by implementing output cuts in full, it still won’t drain the ocean of surplus oil already pumped from the ground.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries aims to shrink the world’s bloated oil inventories with its first production cut in eight years, according to Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo. Yet the bloc’s own data show that even the maximum reduction under consideration would barely dent record stockpiles next year. That makes securing help from competitors -- chiefly Russia -- critical to ending the glut.