RIYADH, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Energy ministers of the Group of 20 (G20) agreed on Friday to ensure the energy market's stability, as well as affordability and security in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, but remained quiet on the issue of oil production reduction.
The G20 economies will develop collaborative policy responses to ensure market stability across all energy sources taking into account each member's circumstances, according to a joint statement released after the energy ministers' virtual meeting.
"We commit to take all the necessary and immediate measures to ensure energy market stability," said the ministers, who called energy security "a cornerstone of energy market stability."
"All the necessary measures" will also be taken, according to the statement, to ensure a balance of interests between producers and consumers, the security of the energy systems and an uninterrupted flow of energy.
Oil consumption has dramatically decreased as more countries implement restrictive measures and shut down large swaths of the economy in order to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. That, coupled with a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, has sent recent oil prices to an 18-year low.
International benchmark Brent crude was around 32 U.S. dollars a barrel as of Friday while the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for May delivery settled under 23 dollars.
The G20 energy ministers also agreed to establish a short-term Focus Group, which is open to all G20 parties on a voluntary basis, with the task of monitoring the response measures, the statement read.
The G20 Extraordinary Energy Ministers Meeting came after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, known as OPEC+, led by Russia, on Thursday tentatively agreed to cut production by 10 million barrels per day in May and June, but Mexico has reportedly objected to its portion of the cuts.
Under the OPEC deal, Mexico was expected to cut production by 400,000 barrels per day but the country demanded the reduction be limited to 100,000 barrels per day in May and June.
The energy ministers' meeting was hosted by Saudi Arabia, which holds this year's G20 presidency, in hopes of sealing a legally binding output cut deal more widely with non-OPEC countries in the group including Mexico. But no oil cuts were mentioned or pledged in the written statement.
The G20 energy ministers will meet again in September as scheduled.
