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Russia invites Turkmenistan to participate in OPEC+ deal

Over the 8 months of the agreement in force, surplus of global oil reserves decreased by 168 mln barrels and now stocks exceed the five-year standard by only 170 mln barrels

MOSCOW, October 3. /TASS/. Russia invited Turkmenistan to participate in the OPEC+ deal and in the Forum of Gas Exporting Countries, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said at a press conference in TASS.

"We invited our colleagues to participate in the Forum of Gas Exporting Countries, as well as in the agreement between the OPEC countries and countries outside of the organization, as Turkmenistan is also a country that produces oil and partly sells it. Of course, these volumes are not as large as from other countries, but nevertheless," Novak said.

A high-ranking source in OPEC told TASS earlier that the countries participating in the agreement on reducing however consensus has not yet been reached.

"Yes, we are now thinking about how to proceed after March. It depends on figures. Some members want to extend the deal, others do not, and some want to increase quotas. Consultations are currently in progress, we still have time. Currently, extension is under discussion for a period of 3-6 months," the source said.

According to the source, it is expected that the fate of the deal after March 2018 will be discussed at a regular meeting in Vienna on November 30.

Last week, the fifth meeting of the monitoring ministerial committee of OPEC+ was held in Vienna, where extending the deal was discussed. Following the meeting, Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak said that it is best to make a decision on this issue before January.

According to Novak, over the 8 months of the agreement in force, surplus of global oil reserves decreased by 168 mln barrels and now stocks exceed the five-year standard by only 170 mln barrels. Participants of the agreement in their joint actions intend to bring the stocks’ volumes to the average five-year level.