Most OPEC+ Countries Want to Extend Oil Deal by 9 Instead of 6 Months - Saudi Minister
The majority of the signatories to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-cartel producers' deal on reducing oil production advocate a nine- rather than six-month extension to the agreement, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid Falih said on Monday
The Austrian capital of Vienna is hosting the 15th meeting of the OEPC+ Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee as well as the 176th meeting of the OPEC Conference on Monday. The following day will see the sixth OPEC+ ministerial meeting take place in the same city.
"We will not know it for sure until tomorrow, but, certainly, most of the countries lean toward an extension of nine, and not six, months," Falih said, asked whether a consensus on extending the deal by nine months was reached.
Meanwhile, a source close to the talks told Sputnik on Monday that OPEC had agreed on a nine-month extension of the deal.
In December, OPEC members together with non-cartel producers, collectively referred to as the OPEC+ group, agreed to cut overall oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day starting from 2019. OPEC pledged to reduce production by 800,000 barrels per day, while non-OPEC states agreed to cut it by 400,000 barrels per day. The deal expired on Sunday.