RIYADH: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and its allies, known as OPEC+, is working to limit challenges affecting the stability of the oil market, said an Iraqi minister. Hayan Abdel-Ghani, Iraq’s oil minister, said that the country is keen to increase its revenues from oil despite challenges in the market, Reuters reported. “Iraq’s oil ministry is keen to achieve an increase in revenues derived from its oil export revenues despite the challenges facing global markets,” he added. Since November, voluntary output cuts by OPEC+ have allowed member states like Iraq to achieve the highest rates of balance between supply and demand, helping them achieve stability in the global oil market, its oil ministry has said. Earlier this month, commodity trader Vitol’s Asia head Mike Muller said that OPEC+ will have to maintain production cuts for this year as new supply continues to reach the market from countries such as the US, Guyana, Venezuela and Brazil. “There’s space for OPEC+ to take some extra share of production but it’s not material. It still requires them to keep their policies pretty much in line with what we’ve seen for the last couple of years,” he said. It was in April 2023 that the OPEC+ decided to reduce oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day. In those recommended cuts, Saudi Arabia pledged to reduce its output by 500,000 bpd, which is now extended until December 2024. In June, Saudi Arabia implemented an additional output cut of 1 million bpd, which was continued until December 2023. In December 2023, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman said that the Kingdom’s involvement in the global economy’s energy markets is geared toward bolstering the stability of the global oil markets. The crown prince also highlighted the significance of oil in supporting global economic growth, expressing the Kingdom’s eagerness to develop and invest in all its energy resources, according to a statement by the Ministry of Energy. In June, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman stressed the need to “trust OPEC+” and he described it as “the most effective international organization” working to restore market stability. Talking to CNBC International, the minister noted that the voluntary output cuts are precautionary measures which are being adopted by OPEC+ to increase the stability of the oil market. (With inputs from Reuters)