Riyadh, November 22. Saudi Energy Minister Abdul-Aziz bin Salman denied the recent news that major oil-producing countries discussed increasing oil production on the evening of the 21st, emphasizing that the production reduction plan will continue until end of next year.

Abdul Aziz was quoted by the Saudi Press Agency as saying that OPEC and non-OPEC producers will not discuss oil ahead of their Dec. 4 meeting. In terms of output, major oil-producing countries plan to cut output by 2 million barrels per day until the end of 2023.

He also said major oil producers stood ready to intervene if measures such as further production cuts were needed to balance supply and demand.

Major oil producing countries announced after a meeting on October 5 that they would cut production sharply from November in view of the uncertainties faced by the global economy and the oil market and the need to strengthen long-term guidance on the oil market. On the basis of the average daily output in August, it was lowered by 2 million barrels. The scale of the production cut is equivalent to 2% of the world’s average daily oil demand.