SOCHI, December 1. /TASS/. Investments in the oil sector will remain unchanged at this year’s level in 2018 amid extension of OPEC+ deal on oil production cut, Russia’s Deputy PM Arkady Dvorkovich said Friday.
"With such prices investments will remain unchanged at this year’s level, while prices will be stable," he said when asked whether he expects a stagnation in the oil sector following the extension of the OPEC+ deal.
On Thursday, November 30, ministers of countries participating in the oil output cut agreement agreed to extend the deal until the end of 2018, and solved the issue with Libya and Nigeria, which were earlier freed from the obligation to reduce crude production.
In late 2016, OPEC member-states and 11 independent oil-exporting countries, including Russia, entered into an agreement to reduce oil production. According to that agreement, during the first half of 2017 the participants were to withdraw 1.8 million barrels per day from the oil market in comparison with the level of October 2016. Russia’s reduction quota amounted to 300,000 barrels per day. In May 2017 the participating countries extended the agreement until April 2018, maintaining the previous quotas for all participants. The purpose of the agreement is to reduce global oil reserves to the average level of the last five years.