OPEC secretary general says oil output cuts were pre-emptive

FILE PHOTO - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais meet, in Caracas
FILE PHOTO - Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais leaves after a meeting with Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro during the 62nd anniversary of the OPEC, at the Miraflores Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela September 14, 2022. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria

Oct 16 (Reuters) - OPEC Secretary General Haitham al-Ghais said on Sunday that the group, alongside other producers that form the OPEC+ alliance, took purely technical decisions and that oil output cuts were a pre-emptive measure.

Speaking from Algeria, Ghais also said a slew of statements from producer nations in support of the Oct. 5 decision to cut oil output by 2 million barrels per day (bpd) were a measure of its effectiveness.

"We welcome these statements and they are proof that the decision was correct," he told reporters.

Asked about whether there would be a revision of the decision should market conditions change in the first six months of next year, Ghais said that OPEC+ decisions were always subject to revision.

"The OPEC+ agreements always have flexibility ... the ministers are always ready to take a plane and come to Vienna."

Reporting by Nayera Abdallah, Ahmed Tolba, and Yasmin Hussin; editing by John Stonestreet

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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