OREANDA-NEWS. Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) member states are set to discuss plans to unify oil product prices across the oil rich bloc at a meeting in Doha on 9 September, according to Kuwait's oil ministry.

Although little is likely to materialise from GCC discussions at this point, subsidy reform is again near the top of the regional agenda after the UAE removed gasoline and diesel subsidies from 1 August.

Abu Dhabi established a new committee in late July to set monthly gasoline and diesel pump prices based on a global average for each product, plus operating costs. Gasoline prices rose by 24pc to 2.14 UAE dirham/l ($0.58/l) in August but were revised down to 1.96 dirham/l for the month of September.

The UAE's move to end subsidies put pressure on its GCC allies to follow suit. But each member faces its own internal pressures and enters the debate over unified prices from different starting points. Saudi Arabia offers its citizens rock bottom retail fuel prices and is wary of implementing rapid reform that might cause political and social upset. Kuwait, on the other hand, is ramping up efforts to introduce sweeping subsidy cuts by early 2016.