MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. Postponing the meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC countries remains an option on Moscow’s table because the Russian delegation has certain questions before the meeting, a source close to the delegation told TASS on Thursday.

"A number of issues appeared with us before the meeting, which may potentially lead to its postponement or at least to more serious and thorough discussion of those issues at the meeting," the source said.

So far, the Russian Energy Ministry confirms the December 10 meeting in Vienna. The growth in oil prices has slowed down following the announcement by the source, close to the Russian delegation.

On November 30, OPEC countries agreed to cut oil production to 32.5 mln barrels per day in order to stabilize the oil market on the condition that non-OPEC members join the agreements.

The previous meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC countries in Doha in April ended in failure due to disagreements between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Tehran’s delegation did not take part in the meeting and refused to cut oil production before it reaches the pre-sanction levels.

 

Concerns over production growth

 

After the agreement in Vienna, the majority of players on the market considered the agreement with non-OPEC members as a done deal. Oil production reached its annual peak of $55.3 per barrel on December 5.

"Maybe, the meeting will be fruitful, maybe we will postpone it," the source said, adding that Russia was concerned about the growth of oil production in certain OPEC states. Russia accounts for nearly half of oil output of all non-OPEC members.

President Vladimir Putin has voiced his support for the agreement to cut oil production, with many observers pointing out that he personally contributed to reaching the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, OPEC’s two largest oil producers.

The TASS source said that ahead of the meeting Russia was concerned by the de-facto growth in some of the cartel’s members, such as Libya and Algeria, and stressed that all members must comply with the quotas for the agreement to be fulfilled.

"We are aware that differences exist among OPEC countries concerning the reduction figure. The development of the situation has not been clear to us yet. Saturday, December 10, will be an important day," the source added.