The decision of Qatar to withdraw from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will not have an impact on Russia's cooperation with oil-producing states, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th December, 2018) The decision of Qatar to withdraw from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will not have an impact on Russia's cooperation with oil-producing states, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
Qatar announced earlier in December that it intended to leave the oil cartel starting from January 1, 2019, to concentrate on its liquefied natural gas production. The statement was made ahead of OPEC session in Vienna. During the session, participants of the OPEC-non-OPEC oil output cut deal agreed to reduce overall production by 1.2 million barrels per day starting from the next year, with a view to signing the charter on future long-term cooperation in the first quarter of 2019. OPEC member states will cut production by 800,000 barrels per day and non-OPEC countries by 400,000 barrels per day.
"As an active member of the organization, Qatar has made a significant contribution to the success of the Vienna output cut deal and played an important role in the work of the monitoring committee. We highly appreciate these efforts and express our gratitude to Qatar. We are convinced that the decision of the Qatari leadership to withdraw from OPEC will not affect the intensity of Russia's cooperation with partners from the oil-producing countries," Zakharova said at a briefing.
According to Zakharova, Russia actively cooperates with OPEC countries. Over the two years of the OPEC-non-OPEC agreement, tangible results have been achieved while the critical imbalance of supply and demand has been reduced.
"The parties to the declaration are determined to continue efforts aimed at revitalizing the oil market, increasing its stability and predictability," Zakharova added.
The spokeswoman noted that Russia maintained close mutually beneficial cooperation with Qatar in energy sector, which will be successfully developing.
