OPEC, allies meet for oil price talks

Source:AFP Published: 2020/4/9 22:03:41

Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Namdar Zangeneh (C) attends the 6th Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting in Vienna, Austria, July 2, 2019. Ten non-OPEC oil producing countries led by Russia endorsed on Tuesday the decision by the OPEC to extend production cuts until next March. (Photo: Xinhua)



Top oil producers met on Thursday to discuss a possible cut in output after a collapse in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic and a Saudi-Russian price war causing the market to crash.

The teleconference took place at 1400 GMT between OPEC, its OPEC+ allies including Russia and other key non-members, seen as the best chance of providing support to prices which are wallowing at near two-decade lows.

Experts warn that without concerted action the commodity risks another steep sell-off.

But investors seemed hopeful on Thursday, sending oil prices rising.

Last week US President Donald Trump claimed Russia and Saudi Arabia would step back from their stand-off and agree to slash output.

Then OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia called for an urgent meeting of producers "to try to reach a fair deal" to "stabilize the oil market" following a phone call between its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Trump.

Thursday's meeting intended to conclude an agreement to cut production by between 10 and 15 million barrels per day, Kuwait's Oil Minister Khaled al-Fadhel said in an interview with the Kuwaiti Al-Rai Daily published Thursday.

Late Wednesday a spokesman for the Russian energy ministry told the TASS agency that Moscow was "prepared to cut 1.6 million barrels a day," which would be the equivalent of 14 percent of Russia's production in the first quarter of 2020.

"The extraordinary producing-countries meeting is the only hope on the horizon for the market that could prevent a total price collapse," said Bjornar Tonhaugen, head of oil markets at Rystad Energy.

AFP

Posted in: MID-EAST,EYE ON WORLD

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