OPEC’s most senior official will discuss the possible participation of Russia in an OPEC production cut, officials in the group said, as the cartel sought to bolster a landmark deal in Algiers.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to cut between 200,000 barrels a day and 700,000 barrels a day of their output to reduce global oil glut. The 14-nation oil-producing group controls over a third of the world’s oil production, but said it also wanted non-OPEC producers to join the effort to curb output.
OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Senusi Barkindo is planning to meet Russia’s energy minister Alexander Novak for “consultations” on the sidelines of an energy summit in Istanbul, a person familiar with the meeting said.
Non-OPEC producer Russia has rarely joined efforts to bolster oil prices and most recently said controlling output would be difficult because a large part of its production is outside state hands.
Russian oil production has been at or near post-Soviet records in recent months, and the government relies heavily on oil revenue. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his country should consider joining limits on production with OPEC.
Venezuela’s oil minister Eulogio de Pino said OPEC was also in “active discussions” with non-OPEC members Oman and Azerbaijan. He said an agreement involving non-OPEC producers could bring a reduction in global supply of 1.2 million barrels of crude a day – implying a cut of 500,000 barrels a day outside the cartel.
But Iran’s OPEC Governor Hossein Kazempour said after the Algiers meeting he hoped non-OPEC producers could take out 300,000 barrels a day from international oil markets.
OPEC itself has yet to agree on how much each of its members needs to produce. Iran, Libya and Nigeria are exempted from restrictions and are expected to produce more oil. The group is set to debate individual allocations as part of a specially-formed committee ahead of a crucial OPEC meeting in Vienna on November 30.
In Istanbul, Dr. Barkindo is also set to meet Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih to determine how much the kingdom – the largest producer in the group – should produce, according to people familiar with the meeting. Saudi Arabia pumped near record levels at 10.6 million barrels a day in August. (Prime/Business World Magazine)
