Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela are ready to freeze oil production at January levels if other producer countries do the same, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in a statement after talks in Doha on February 16.
Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela are ready to freeze oil production at January levels if other producer countries do the same, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in a statement after talks in Doha on February 16.
According to Bloomberg, the world’s second-largest crude producer faces numerous obstacles to any deal that would actually cut production, even if Putin decides it’s in the national interest. Reducing the flow of crude might damage Russia’s fields and pipelines, require expensive new storage tanks or simply take too long.
«Prior to Tuesday’s agreement, Novak had said he could consider reductions if other producers joined in. Yet Igor Sechin, chief executive officer of the country’s largest oil company Rosneft OJSC and a close Putin ally, has resisted, saying last week in London that coordination would be difficult because no major producer seems willing to pare output», Bloombereg reports.
An oil and gas industry analyst at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies James Henderson said: “The history of relations with OPEC suggests that Russian companies are not keen to cut production. There are certain practical difficulties, and the companies would rather somebody else did that, and they could benefit once the price goes up.”
Remember: Oil prices have dropped below $30 a barrel in recent months, a fall of 70 percent since 2014.
