An oil drilling rig stands on one of the Causeway islands in Manifa offshore oilfield, operated by Saudi Aramco, in Manifa, Saudi Arabia. (Bloomberg News)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia said Aug. 3 it will extend its unilateral production cut of 1 million barrels of oil a day through the end of September in its effort to boost flagging energy prices.
The Saudi cut of 1 million barrels per day, which began in July, comes as the other OPEC+ producers have agreed to extend earlier production cuts through next year.
The kingdom announced the extension in a statement on the state-run Saudi Press Agency, quoting an anonymous official in the kingdom’s Energy Ministry. The official added that the cut “can be extended or deepened” if the need arises.
“This additional voluntary cut comes to reinforce the precautionary efforts made by OPEC+ countries with the aim of supporting the stability and balance of oil markets,” the official said.
The move was widely expected by analysts.
Benchmark Brent crude traded Aug. 3 at over $80 a barrel.
