America turned into a net oil exporter last week, breaking almost 75 years of continued dependence on foreign oil. The shift to net exports is the dramatic result of an unprecedented boom in American oil production. While the country has been heading in that direction for years, last week’s shift came as data showed a sharp drop in imports and a jump in exports to a record high.
Meanwhile, the 5th OPEC and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting was held in Vienna, Austria, on Friday, 07 December 2018. Following deliberations on the immediate oil market prospects and in view of a growing imbalance between global oil supply and demand in 2019, the Ministerial Meeting decided to adjust the overall production by 1.2 mb/d, effective as of January 2019 for an initial period of six months.