Russia wants to increase the output, Saudi Arabia warns against it. The talks are to continue on Tuesday.
The OPEC headquarters in Vienna.
The OPEC oil cartel and its ten cooperation partners (OPEC +) are still at odds over a possible increase in production from February.
The six-hour consultations on Monday were initially without result, several Russian news agencies reported unanimously in the evening. According to OPEC, the talks will continue on Tuesday (3:30 p.m. CET) in Vienna.
At the online ministerial meeting of the OPEC + countries, there were reportedly different views on further expansion of oil production. Russia had spoken out in favor. Saudi Arabia warned against turning on the oil tap.
In view of the recent rise in oil prices, the oil cartel OPEC and its cooperation partners must resist the temptation to loosen production limits even more, said the Saudi energy minister, Abdulasis bin Salman. “Our job is not done yet,” he said, referring to the great uncertainties in the oil market. The corona vaccinations are a big step, but in some areas the oil demand is still weak and fragile.
The OPEC + countries are trying to at least stabilize the oil price with their production strategy. Before the meeting, the Russian news agency Tass reported that Russia was in favor of expanding production from February by a further 500,000 barrels (159 liters each) a day. Energy Minister Alexander Nowak said he was confident that the market will recover in 2021. The alliance must return to normal funding levels as soon as possible.
Corona subsidy cut
In April 2020, the alliance OPEC + responded to the collapse in demand due to the corona crisis with the historically unique production cut of around ten million barrels. Oil prices had crashed in the meantime and had only recovered in the past few months. Since the beginning of the year, the alliance, which supplies around 45 percent of global oil production, has again increased its production volume by 500,000 barrels.
