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World oil prices

Russia proposes date for meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC oil production control committee

Russia’s energy minister said earlier that Russian companies that produce 90% of crude oil had confirmed their readiness to cut production in the first half of 2017

MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. Russia proposes to hold the meeting of the committee on control over oil production cut by OPEC countries and non-OPEC member-states in late January, Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Wednesday.

"We’re proposing to meet after January 20," he said.

According to Novak, Russia’s work group on oil production cut, which consists of representatives of 12 companies controlling 90% of the country’s output, had a meeting on Monday. "On Monday there was a meeting of the work monitoring group," he said, adding that "meetings will be held at least once in two weeks."

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A ministerial control committee headed by Kuwait has been set up for monitoring the agreements reached regarding oil production cut both inside OPEC and with non-OPEC members. The committee also include representatives of Algeria, Venezuela and two non-OPEC member-states. According to Azerbaijan’s minister of industry and energy Natiq Aliyev, Russia and Kuwait will head the committee on control over oil production cut agreements reached in Vienna.

The plan was to hold the first meeting of the committee in Kuwait.

On December 10, OPEC and non-OPEC countries signed the agreement on joint reduction of oil output at a meeting in Vienna on December 10. Also, 11 countries will join the announced cut by OPEC members of 1.164 mln barrels per day in the first half of next year, and reduce production by another 558,000 barrels per day. Thus, the total crude oil production cut will amount to 1.7-1.8 mln barrels per day. Russia plans to cut its oil production by 300,000 barrels per day in the first half of next year.

Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said earlier that Russian companies that produce 90% of crude oil had confirmed their readiness to cut production in the first half of 2017.

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