April 10 (UPI) -- Nearly all members of OPEC have agreed to production cuts they hope will help stabilize the oil market after reduced demand because of the coronavirus and a pricing war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.
In a series of compromises between Saudi Arabia, which wanted deep cuts, and Russia, which fought oil production contraction, OPEC Plus agreed Thursday to reduce production by 10 million barrels per day starting in May. The cuts will last for two months.
From July to December, the organization would add two million barrels per day back into production and from next January through April 2022, would add another two million barrels.
OPEC said the agreement will be reevaluated in December 2021.
OPEN Plus member Mexico, however, balked at the reduction.
Mexican Energy Secretary Rocio Nahle Garcia said in a Twitter post the government is ready to cut its production by 100,000 barrels a day, but not the 400,000 the deal calls for.
"The [deal] was agreed by all the OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries participating in the Declaration of Cooperation, with the exception of Mexico, and as a result, the agreement is conditional on the consent of Mexico," OPEC said in a statement.
Global oil demand has dropped by about 30 percent since the coronavirus outbreak, leading to many countries to establish lockdown orders limiting travel and movement.
