Russian minister says OPEC discussed coop mechanisms in Istanbul

ISTANBUL, Oct 12 (PRIME) -- Oil producing countries did not discuss production figures at an informal OPEC meeting in Istanbul, but considered cooperation mechanisms with non-OPEC countries, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Wednesday.

On Monday, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is ready join OPEC in a freeze of oil production, if such an agreement is reached. OPEC agreed to limit daily oil output at 32.5–33.0 million barrels, but ceilings for each country will be defined on November 30.

“We did not discuss the figures, we discussed mechanisms for cooperation of OPEC and non-OPEC countries and the analysis we have to work out the mechanism for cooperation,” Novak said.

“Speaking of figures, I think that work is yet to be done. I think we will discuss the parameters (at a meeting in Vienna on October 28–29)…and OPEC will work on these issues within the organization until the (November 30) conference.”

OPEC is actively offering non-OPEC members to take part in discussions on how to stabilize the oil market, and Russia expects that many oil producing countries will receive invitations to the meeting on October 29, including the U.S., Novak added.

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