OPEC+ will continue to manage oil production in a responsible manner to ensure that markets are responsive, the minister indicated.

The Prince said that having a regulator in the market, in this case OPEC+, makes a world of difference in the stability of markets.

He criticized the description of the alliance as a cartel, preferring the group to be rendered as “a responsive regulator to a market that needs regulating.” “OPEC+ isn’t a cartel but a group of responsible producers”, the minister added.

He noted that the current hike in oil prices is far less volatile than in other energy markets. Brent oil prices rose by 28 percent in November compared to March’s levels, a table shared by the minister during the press conference showed. This was in contrast to the skyrocketing prices experienced in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal in the European Union, which went up by 454 percent and 109 percent respectively.

Natural gas prices also increased by 394 percent in the EU while in the US the jump was by 105 percent. He said that oil prices are rising because of the wider volatility in the energy markets.

The minister also added that the group remains “attentive” to climate change.

Responding to questions concerning some member states not filling their quotas, Prince Abdulaziz answered that different countries have the right to decide their own quotas as it’s a sovereign issue.

He finalized by saying that a severe winter could largely determine what happens to energy prices.