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World oil prices

Ex-finance minister: OPEC agreement should be extended if all obligations fulfilled

YEKATERINBURG, July 10. /TASS/. It is worth while extending the agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC member-states on oil production cut if the obligations are fulfilled, Chief of the Center for Strategic Research (CSR) Aleksei Kudrin said Monday.

"Of course, it is better to extend it [the agreement)] if all obligations are fulfilled," he said when asked a respective question.

In December 2016, OPEC and 11 countries outside the cartel agreed to withdraw 1.8 million barrels per day from the oil market in the first half of 2017. The goal of the alliance is to reduce global oil reserves to an average level of five years.

On May 25, OPEC and non-OPEC countries agreed in Vienna to extend the existing level of oil production cut (1.8 mln barrels daily) until April 2018.

Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said earlier that Russia and OPEC are interested in a gradual withdrawal from the agreement and plan to discuss the withdrawal strategy soon. He added that other OPEC member-states have also confirmed that they are interested in exiting the deal so that the supply increased in line with the demand in the second and third quarters.

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