Saudi Energy Minister Praised Oil Cuts Deal Impact On Economies - Russian Investment Fund

ST. PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th June, 2019) Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Falih said during the meeting of foreign investors with Russian President Vladimir Putin that the oil producers' deal had proved beneficial for the Russian and Saudi economies, CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev said Thursday.

"He certainly noted that the existing oil deal between OPEC+ countries was extremely positive for Russian economy as well as for the Saudi Arabian and the world's ones," Dmitriev said.

He also stressed that according to Falih, Saudi Arabia and its Aramco oil company were planning to invest in Russia and find new partners in the country.

The meeting took place at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) that began earlier on Thursday and will last through Saturday. Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency is an official media partner of the forum.

In 2016, OPEC and a number of non-OPEC oil producers agreed to cut oil production by 1.8 million barrels per day and boosted it back by one million barrels per day in June 2018 amid US-Iranian tensions. In early December, the signatories to the deal agreed to reduce overall production by 1.2 million barrels per day starting from 2019 following Washington's sanctions against Tehran. Under the new agreement, OPEC members will reduce their oil output by 800,000 barrels per day, while non-OPEC countries will cut production by 400,000 barrels daily.

In order to discuss the future of the oil output cut deal, including the possibility of its extension, the signatories were about to meet on June 25 and June 26. However, the meeting was postponed and is now scheduled to take place from July 2-4.