MOSCOW, March 14. /TASS/. It is too early to formulate a common position regarding the issue of extending the agreements on crude oil production cap, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.
"There is no common position yet," he said, adding that "there are nuances in approaches of various states [regarding the issue - TASS]."
"Also, shale oil producers are putting some pressure on the market," Peskov said. "It is too early to speak about a common position yet," he added.
When asked whether the issue will be raised at the upcoming meeting between Russian and Iranian presidents Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rouhani scheduled for end-March, Kremlin spokesman said: "Cannot say yet. Preparations for those contacts are underway."
OPEC decided at its November 2016 meeting in Vienna to limit production to 32.5 mln barrels per day in the first half of 2017, down 1.2 mln barrels per day from October 2016 production levels, with the possibility of extending this limit for the remainder of the year. In a subsequent meeting on December 10, eleven non-OPEC countries pledged to cut nearly 0.6 mln barrels per day, among them Azerbaijan, Bahrein, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, the Republic of Sudan and South Sudan. Thus, the total crude oil production cut will amount to 1.7-1.8 mln barrels per day in the first half of this year. The signed agreement expires in June. The issue of extending it will be discussed at the upcoming ministerial meeting on monitoring of oil production cut in Kuwait scheduled for March 26.