UPDATE 2: Russian official: OPEC+ to set new goal at Sat meeting

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VIENNA, Jun 20 (PRIME) -- Participants of the OPEC+ oil output reduction deal will set a new goal at a meeting in Vienna on Saturday as the initial global target of oil and oil products reserves has been reached, Russian First Deputy Energy Minister Alexei Teksler said on Wednesday.

“The target was set. It was reached long ago. It is about average reserves in five years. Now we need to define a new target and we should do it in a dialogue with all participants, both OPEC and non-OPEC states. I am sure such an agreement will be reached at a meeting on June 23,” he said.

Teksler also said that Russia is ready to discuss other countries’ proposals to increase oil production quotas under the OPEC+ agreement to come to a compromise, but it still has its own position.

“Russia will of course negotiate (proposals) of its colleagues, but we also have our own position. We will discuss it as well,” he said.

Energy Minister of Saudi Arabia Khalid Al-Falih said he is sure that OPEC states will come to an agreement concerning the future of the deal at their meeting on Friday.

“Of course we will come to an agreement,” he said.

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said that returning to 100% implementation of the OPEC+ agreement is acceptable.

“Yes, this is one of the ways,” he said.

Zanganeh added that Iran’s oil exports will not be hurt by U.S. sanctions as the state has plans to withstand them. Iran is against “turning oil into weapons” and hopes that OPEC will be able to avoid politicization to adhere to the previously agreed deal, he said.

On Tuesday, Zanganeh said that he did not support the idea of even a slight increase of oil production as softening of the OPEC+ deal. He was also sure that the deal’s participants would be unable to come to an agreement.

Earlier in June, Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia and Saudi Arabia will suggest raising the output to 1.5 million barrels per day in July–September, and making a further decision in September basing on the market situation.

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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