OPEC bans Reuters and Bloomberg journalists from visiting its headquarters – Kommersant

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has banned journalists from Reuters, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal from visiting its headquarters in Vienna. The newspaper reported The Financial Times‘ with reference to sources. According to her, the ban was initiated by Saudi Arabia.

According to the newspaper, the ban was imposed on attending only one event: journalists from these publications will not be allowed to attend the OPEC + meeting this weekend. On June 4, OPEC countries will have to agree on an oil production policy for the second half of this year. The reasons for this decision are not named.

As noted by The Financial Times, often the media report the results of the OPEC meeting even before it starts. Many ministers give comments to journalists even before the summit starts: this leads to fluctuations in oil prices.

On May 23, Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud told oil speculators to “be careful” at the Qatar Economic Forum. This added to fears that OPEC+ could cut production to raise prices. After this statement, oil began to rise in price: the price of July futures for Brent crude rose by 1%, the price of July futures for WTI – by 1.2%.

Anastasia Larina