Minister says too early to forecast future of OPEC+ deal

SOCHI, May 15 (PRIME) -- The situation in Iran, Venezuela and Libya makes the oil market very unpredictable, and it is too early to forecast the future of the OPEC plus nonmember oil output reduction agreement, Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Wednesday.

“We will of course look at the market situation assessment here (in Jeddah), the current situation and the expected situation. But concerning the results of opinion sharing and any possible recommendations which will be elaborated, it is too early to tell,” Novak said.

In November 2016, OPEC and non-OPEC states including Russia first agreed to reduce their oil output to rebalance the market. Earlier in December 2018, the participants of the deal decided to cut production by an additional 800,000 barrels per day for OPEC and 400,000 barrels per day for non-OPEC states, including 230,000 barrels per day for Russia, from the level of October 2018.

The next meeting of the OPEC+ deal ministerial monitoring committee is scheduled for Friday–Saturday.

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