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OPEC deal extended

30 November 2017 18:05 (UTC+04:00)
OPEC deal extended

By Sara Israfilbayova

The meeting of OPEC+ was held on November 30 in Vienna. Participants of the agreement agreed to extend the deal to limit oil production for nine months - until the end of 2018.

The results of the agreement will be analyzed in the middle of next year.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that all countries, including those that are not OPEC members, support the extension of the agreement. Previously, there were fears that Russia still doubted the feasibility of such a measure.

With oil prices rising above $60, Russia has expressed concerns that such an extension could prompt a spike in crude production in the United States, which is not participating in the deal.

Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih noted that preliminary results of the deal will be considered in June 2018. At the same time he expressed hope that commitment to the agreement next year will remain at the same high level as in this.

During the meeting, the participants agreed that the price of a barrel of oil at $62- $65 is appropriate.

Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq said OPEC would debate capping Nigerian and Libyan output at 1.8 million bpd and 1 million bpd respectively, having exempted the two countries so far due to unrest and lower-than-normal production.

The production cuts have been in place since the start of 2017 and helped halve an excess of global oil stocks although those remain at 140 million barrels above the five-year average, according to OPEC.

OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached an agreement in December 2016 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices. OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1.

Non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day starting from January 1, 2017.

OPEC and its partners decided to extend its production cuts till March 2018 in Vienna on May 25, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry.

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