The oil market is moving closer to re-balancing, according to United Arab Emirates’ Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei. Mazrouei, President of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Conference for 2018, expressed his optimism over regaining balance to the international oil market, thanks to the cooperation between the OPEC, and its partners. OPEC Conference’s 174th meeting will take place on June 22nd in Vienna, Austria. “The significant progress we have achieved will only be sustained if our cooperation is institutionalized in some way, shape or form,” he added. Mazrouei said OPEC will discuss and agree on their plans for the remainder of 2018 and beyond when the group meets on Friday. "Looking ahead, I remain optimistic that we will fulfill our goal of delivering sustainable oil market stability, which is intended to serve the long-term interests of producers, consumers and the global economy," said the ministry. The minister indicated that stock levels have dropped significantly since the beginning of 2017 and the market is moving ever-closer to becoming rebalanced. "This will undoubtedly be a key topic of discussion in our June meeting," he asserted. "In this meeting and the 7th OPEC International Seminar, a unique assembly of Ministers, heads of intergovernmental organizations, chief executives of national and international oil companies, industry leaders, academics, energy experts and media, we will review the noteworthy progress that we are making," added Mazrouei. He also commended the performance and new approach of the OPEC over the first half of 2018, describing the first half of the year as “constructive”. "OPEC has engaged in open and transparent dialogue with a broad range of stakeholders, an approach that I wholeheartedly support and I believe is beneficial to all parties," he said. The minister also announced that by working closely with the OPEC Secretary-General and his team, he participated in numerous seminars, events and meetings to further strengthen OPEC’s engagement and rapport with organizations such as the International Energy Agency (IAE) and International Energy Forum (IEF), and other industry stakeholders.