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Novak: OPEC plus to be institutionalized
Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak (left) said in Vienna on Saturday, citing potential capacity, that in the 17 months through May the so-called OPEC plus voluntarily took away one billion barrels of crude out of the market. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the bloc of producers led by Russia are drafting a chart to form the basis allowing them to "set in stone" their cooperation and "institutionalize" it, he added.
The signatories today agreed to gradually lift output by as much as one million barrels per day over the course of the next six months. The quotas from the existing agreement will stay the same, as they need to make up for a decline in supply, mostly from Venezuela and Nigeria. Libya and Iran also face challenges. More countries joined the coordination of oil production, Novak noted and added another meeting about the future framework will be held in the next three months. The current agreement expires at the end of the year.
The situation is "dynamic," according to Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy Khalid al-Falih, who vowed to meet targets even if production at troubled members declines further.