Russian min: OPEC deal members to keep consultations after 2018

DAVOS, Jan 24 (PRIME) -- The participants of an OPEC plus nonmember agreement of oil output reduction are satisfied with its effect and plan to continue consultations after its expiration, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told channel RT in an interview broadcast on Wednesday.

“I think these joint activities must be limited in time. I hope that the market will become balanced by the end of 2018. The activities of OPEC and nonmembers have shown that we will be able to apply similar tactics in the future,” Novak said, adding that the market balance is expected to be attained in July–December 2018.

The participant states plan to organize consultations each six to twelve months and to attract the largest consumers, such as the U.S., to the discussion, Novak said.

“Every country has the right to make its choice independently. The U.S. is one of the largest producing countries. Output is close to 10 million barrels a day. At the same time, the U.S. is a large fuel consumer, almost 20 million barrels. This is a very significant volume affecting the market,” Novak said.

Novak also said that growth of shale oil production will not cover increasing demand. “I am not scared by shale oil at all because it will not solve all issues. Yes, (in the short term) it will cover an increase of consumption but it will not cover the entire growth. This is why we will have to continue the development of traditional deposits.”

OPEC agreed to reduce production by 1.2 million barrels daily to 32.5 million barrels in November 2016. In December 2016, 11 non-OPEC countries including Russia agreed to cut their combined output by 558,000 barrels. In November 2017, the agreement was prolonged until the end of 2018.

The last meeting of the monitoring committee took place in Oman on January 21. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said that almost all participants agreed to continue the cooperation after 2018.

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