UAE, KSA to Slightly Raise Oil Production, Macron Says

French President Emmanuel Macron said that the UAE, and KSA will slightly increase their oil as they are the only two OPEC countries that can deliver the required global demands of oil since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Macron told US President Joe Biden during their meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit: "I had a call with Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan," adding: "He told me two things. I'm at a maximum, maximum (production capacity). This is what he claims."

"And then he said (the) Saudis can increase by 150 (thousands barrels per day). Maybe a little bit more, but they don't have huge capacities before six months' time."

The statements of Macron came after the announcement made by Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazroui of the UAE's production of oil reached near its climax by 3.168 million barrels per day.

"In light of recent media reports, I would like to clarify that the UAE is producing near to our maximum production capacity based on its current OPEC+ production baseline," said Al Mazrouei.

Two weeks ago, an Opec official claimed that global oil demand growth will slow in 2023 as higher crude and fuel prices push up inflation and slow the global economy.Fuel use has rebounded after falling due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and is on track to surpass 2019 levels this year, even as prices have risen to record levels.

But higher prices undermined growth forecasts for 2022 and fueled expectations of slower growth in 2023, according to “Reuters”.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is expected to release its first demand forecast for 2023 in July.