UPDATE 2: OPEC+ prolong deal for 9 mos, sign charter of perpetual cooperation

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VIENNA, Jul 2 (PRIME) -- The countries participants of the OPEC plus nonmember oil output reduction agreement signed prolongation of the deal for nine months and unanimously voted for a charter of long-term cooperation on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said, “Nine months have already been agreed upon. And the charter is physically signed by 24 states.”

On Monday, the text was approved at a meeting of OPEC.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said, “I think we have joined now the decision taken yesterday (by OPEC) and we can proceed to signing the document.”

In November 2016, OPEC and non-OPEC states including Russia first agreed to reduce their oil output to rebalance the market. 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 228,000 barrels per day for Russia, from the level of October 2018.

Al-Falih said that the deal participants are considering changing the method of oil reserve calculation and one of the possible formulas shows that the current reserves are excessive by 240 million barrels instead of the current estimate of 25 million barrels.

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