HOUSTON, March 6. /TASS/. Continuation of the dialogue between OPEC and the leading shale oil producers of the US are in the interests of both sides, OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said at the CERAWeek conference.
"It is in our interests to continue the dialogue to exchange the vision and compare expectations. That is why we decided to meet again this time," he said.
"We are not talking about prices, we're not talking about cutting production. This is not the goal of our dialogue," the secretary general concluded.
Impact of financial markets on oil prices
OPEC will hold consultations with representatives of hedge funds on the sidelines of the CERAWeek Conference in Houston to discuss the impact of financial institutions on oil prices, Barkindo said.
"Our meetings with the players in the financial market participants including hedge funds and oil managers are also the continuation of the meeting [with shale producers] we had last year at CERAWeek. Before that, we met in New York," Barkindo noted.
"There is no doubt that financial markets have impact on oil. We understand that we should reach them to understand how dynamics and complexity of this market influence us and vice versa," he said.
Meeting of OPEC and leading shale oil producers
Earlier, Ecuador’s oil minister Carlos Enrique Perez Garcia told TASS on the sidelines of the CERAWeek conference in Houston, that at least seven ministers from the countries that are members of the OPEC oil production cut deal will participate in the meeting with shale oil producers. The meeting in the format of a dinner will be held in Houston on Monday evening, local time.
According to observers, shale oil producers have been increasing production to the detriment of OPEC countries, which had to limit production for the second year in a row.
The last meeting between OPEC and shale oil producers took place on the sidelines of CERAWeek a year ago in Houston. The only participant representing OPEC was its Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo. The meeting did not result in any agreements. However, it "broke the ice" between the two competing forces, Barkindo added.
Earlier OPEC Secretary General noted that all major oil producers in the world are fully responsible for the situation on the market. He also noted that the agreement on limiting production, which involves 24 countries, both from OPEC and outside the cartel, is open to new participants.
In their efforts to limit production, OPEC and Russia are trying to reduce global surpluses of oil. However, while oil production in the countries which are part of the OPEC deal is declining, oil production in other countries, especially in the US, is growing. In January, US production exceeded 10 million barrels per day for the first time since the 1970s. According to the forecast of the IEA, the US already this year may outstrip Russia in oil production.