Late last week, just ahead of the Doha meeting, we showed that Iran's existing oil tanker armada which until recently had been on anchor next to the Iranian coast and which according to Windward data was storing as much as 50 million barrels offshore...
... had finally started to move.
"Low oil price is a function of excessive supply+true demand realization" - Reggie Middleton
Failure to proceed with crude output freeze plan seen as a "serious blow" to oil-market sentiment by Energy Aspects; Barclays expects mounting tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran to boost volatility. Separately, Kuwait oil workers strike viewed as price-supportive. Here, courtesy of Bloomberg, is a summary of what analysts have said so far on meeting’s outcome as well as comments on Kuwait:
Barclays analysts including Miswin Mahesh
Following last night's leaked draft Doha document, which envisions a non-binding, "gentleman-like" oil freeze agreement, that caps production at January levels until October, with zero enforcement or oversight, moments ago the formal Doha talks started:
However, even before the start, things did not look good, when Saudi Arabia delayed the start of the meeting in what seemed to be a redrafting to account for the inclusion of Iran as part of the freeze, something which Iran has clearly said it won't do.
With the world's attention about to focus on Qatar where in just a few hours the Doha OPEC "freeze" meeting is supposed to start (without the presence of Iran which has made it clear it won't freeze production but "supports the decision for other OPEC and non-OPEC countries to freeze crude oil production" so everyone except Iran), moments ago Tass presented a glimpse of what will be announced.