OPEC leans toward extension of oil output level freeze deal

By Azernews

By Sara Israfilbayova

The members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) lean toward extending the deal on freezing the oil production level, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi told.

Earlier, Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Bouterfa said after the meeting with al-Luaibi that two Arab countries support the idea of extending the agreement until the end of 2017. The current version of the treaty, designed to stabilize oil prices, expires in the summer.

"There is an orientation to the extension, as this would lead to stabilization of prices, which would have a positive impact on the Iraqi budget," Luaibi said.

The minister confirmed that OPEC would discuss the extension issue on May 25 at a regular meeting in Vienna.

In December 2016, OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached their first deal since 2001 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices. OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1.

Non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce oil output by 558,000 barrels per day, including Russia by 300,000 barrels per day, starting from January 1, 2017 for six months, extendable for another six months.