Min: Russia, Saudi Arabia to suggest raising OPEC+ output Jul–Sep

DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia, Jun 18 (PRIME) -- Russia and Saudi Arabia will suggest raising the output under the OPEC+ oil production cut agreement to 1.5 million barrels per day in July–September, and making a further decision in September basing on the market situation, Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters late on June 16.

“The point is that we suggest (increasing the output limit) for the third quarter only. In September, the market situation should be analyzed again to understand what to do next. There will be a hike in demand in July–September so such suggestions are reasonable,” he said.

Novak also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman have made a joint decision to call for making the agreement of OPEC and non-OPEC states termless. The issue will be discussed on Thursday at a meeting of the committee to monitor implementation of the deal in Vienna.

Such a perpetual agreement will not define output limits to let the participants set such parameters when necessary, Novak added.

The minister also said that if the participants decide to soften the deal at the upcoming meeting, production quotas should be increased proportionally.

In November 2016, OPEC and non-OPEC states agreed to reduce their oil production to rebalance the market. Russia joined the agreement in December 2016 with a promise to cut output by 300,000 barrels daily compared with the level of October 2016. The agreement was prolonged until the end of 2018 in November 2017.

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