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Kazakhstan, UAE and Iraq can become members of OPEC+ monitoring committee — sources

The issue of electing new members will most probably be discussed at the extraordinary meeting of OPEC+ ministers in April

MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/. The new composition of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the OPEC+ agreement has not yet been approved, while its meeting in Baku is scheduled on March 17-18. Inclusion of the UAE, Iraq and Kazakhstan instead of Venezuela, Algeria and Oman is discussed, three sources in Middle Eastern delegations of OPEC+ and the OPEC Secretariat told TASS on Thursday.

Venezuela, Algeria and Oman "have not been members of the Committee anymore," they said. Ministers of Algeria and Oman will not come to Baku. The UAE and Iraq can take place in the meeting. They are assumed to step into the committee instead of Algeria and Venezuela.

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The issue of electing new members will most probably be discussed at the extraordinary meeting of OPEC+ ministers in April, the sources said.

Saudi Arabia and Russia acting as the chair and the co-chair of JMMC will keep their status. Kazakhstan is offered to be appointed instead of Oman. Venezuela is expected to attend the meeting in Baku but in the role of the president of the OPEC conference. The country was elected to this office for 2019.

Agenda of Baku meeting

The agenda of the forthcoming JMMC meeting in Baku has not yet been approved, the sources told TASS. It is not clear whether extension of the OPEC+ oil production limiting deal or an increase of quotas of participating countries is discussed.

The key issues of the agenda will probably be discussion of the charter on cooperation of OPEC+ countries, one of the sources said.

OPEC+ ministers discussed the opportunity for oil production reduction in 2019 at the meeting in Vienna on December 5-7 for the purpose of avoiding surplus offer of oil. The meeting ended with an arrangement to cut oil production by OPEC+ deal participants by 1.2 mln barrels per day.

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