Saudi Arabia and Russia ‘clear fog’ before OPEC meeting

LONDON: The fog has cleared ahead of OPEC’s next meeting, with Saudi Arabia and Russia clearly stating support to extend a global deal to cut oil supply for another nine months, said the OPEC secretary-general.
OPEC, plus Russia and nine other producers, have cut oil output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) since January.
The pact runs to March 2018 and they are considering extending it.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said this week he supported keeping the deal in place for nine months, following on from similar remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“OPEC welcomes the clear guidance from the crown prince of Saudi Arabia on the need to achieve stable oil markets and sustain it beyond the first quarter of 2018,” OPEC’s Mohammed Barkindo told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference.
“Together with the statement expressed by President Putin this clears the fog on the way to Vienna on Nov. 30,” he said.
Oil prices fell on Friday after Brent rallied to just below $60 a barrel the previous session but support from the comments by the Saudi crown prince for extending OPEC-led output cuts created a floor.
Oil hit $59.55 on Thursday, its highest since July 2015 and more than 30 percent above its 2017 lows touched in June.
US crude prices have been capped by rising US production.
Oil prices have been hovering near their highest levels for this year amid recent signs of a tightening market, talk of an extension of production cuts and tensions in Iraq.
Friday’s announcement of a cease-fire between Iraqi forces and the Peshmerga from the country’s autonomous northern Kurdish region eased some concerns.
“Yesterday we saw the expiry of Brent options, and like last month it pushed up prices near $60 — now it’s just correcting lower,” Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix consultancy said, adding that the market reacted slowly to bullish Saudi ­comments.
— Reuters