Russia sees oil-cut extension as consensus with OPEC emerges

Russia’s Energy Minister, Alexander Novak, expects OPEC and its allies to reach a decision on Thursday to extend their pact to curb oil output as signs of a growing consensus emerged with the cartel’s biggest producer Saudi Arabia.
“We have reached in general a mutual understanding” on the future of the deal, Novak said in Vienna on Wednesday. “I think we will have” a decision on an extension tomorrow, he said.
Novak’s comments were echoed in the Austrian capital by his Saudi Arabian counterpart Khalid Al-Falih, who praised the “solid results” achieved, but added that “a good deal more hard work and commitment is essential.”
The two key decision makers spoke in a preparatory meeting ahead of Thursday’s ministerial gathering. While the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its main ally Russia agree that oil production cuts are working and should be extended deeper into next year, Moscow is said to want clarity on how and when to end the curbs. OPEC has agreed to discuss an exit strategy.
The oil-production cuts have been “fruitful” and participants were showing a “responsible approach,” Novak said. Details of the deal have still to be discussed, he said before a meeting of ministers in Vienna.
Source: World Oil