Al-Allaibi: Iraq agrees to Saudi Arabia's invitation to extend the OPEC cuts 9 months

Al-Allaibi: Iraq agrees to Saudi Arabia's invitation to extend the OPEC cuts 9 months

economy Since 2017-05-22 at 19:59 (Baghdad time)

Baghdad Mawazine News:
Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar Ali al-Allaibi said on Monday that he and his Saudi counterpart Khaled al-Faleh agreed on the need for OPEC to extend oil production cuts by another nine months.
Speaking at a joint news conference in Baghdad with his Saudi counterpart, Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih, Al-Luaibi said: "The current agreement on production cuts for OPEC members and producers outside is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2017. The organization will discuss this week whether The cuts will be extended. "
"OPEC-led oil production cuts helped stabilize the market and support a recovery for the crude industry but not a complete recovery," Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Faleh said.
"Iraq is a key element in the region and the Kingdom is trying to be an auxiliary element for the advancement of Iraq," Saudi Oil Minister Hussein Khalid al-Faleh said. "The kingdom wants to unite and not differentiate between countries," he said.
Al-Falih was speaking in Baghdad before heading to Vienna, where the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will meet this week to decide whether to extend production cuts due to expire on June 30.
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Iraq and Saudi Arabia agree on the need to extend oil production cuts by 9 months

economy Since 2017-05-22 at 20:55 (Baghdad time)

Baghdad Mawazine News
OPEC's top oil producers Iraq and Saudi Arabia agreed on Monday to extend a global oil production cut for an additional nine months in a bid to boost crude prices, removing a potential stumbling block as producers prepare for the meeting this week.
After meeting with his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Faleh said he did not expect any opposition within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to extend the cut for another nine months.
OPEC member states meet in Vienna on Thursday to discuss the extension of the original agreement reached in December, in which the Organization and 11 other countries, including Russia, agreed to cut production by 1.8 million bpd in the first half of 2017.
The minister told a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Jabbar al-Laibi that Iraq had given the "green light" for a nine-month extension to be presented to the meeting in the Austrian capital.
"A new agreement will be similar to the previous agreement with minor changes and any decision will not be finalized until OPEC meets," he said.
Al-Falih arrived in Iraq on a rare visit as part of the latest effort by OPEC's biggest oil producer to persuade Iraq, another senior member of the cartel, to extend production cuts by an additional nine months to ease crude oil supplies.
"I agree with Saudi Arabia on the need for a nine-month extension," al-Laibi said.
Saudi Arabia and Russia are pressing for an extension of the cuts from the end of June to the end of March 2018. Earlier in the day, Iraq, the second largest OPEC producer and the fastest growing OPEC member, remained in favor of a six-month extension.
This is the first time in three decades that a senior Saudi energy official has visited Baghdad.
OPEC wants to cut global crude stocks to an average of five years but has found it difficult to reach that level. Stocks are hovering around record highs, including increased production in the United States, which is not part of the deal.
"I think we have a growing consensus (about the extension of production cuts)," OPEC Secretary General Mohamed Barkindo told reporters in Vienna.
Iraq and Iran were the main stumbling blocks to the decision to cut production in December.
• The challenge for OPEC
Iraq said it had just started producing growth after years of deceleration, while Tehran said it needed to increase production after lifting Western sanctions imposed on it.
Iraq's agreement to limit production in the first half of 2017, while Iran was allowed to slightly increase its production, was agreed by OPEC and non-OPEC producers to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) or 2 percent of the world's oil.
Nigeria and Libya have been exempted from cuts as their output has been affected by unrest.
Both have recovered some of the production in recent months and are expected to add more soon, adding to the challenges OPEC faces in rebalancing the market.
Goldman Sachs, one of the most active banks in commodity trading, said on Monday a 9-month extension would help rebalance stocks in 2017 and keep Brent crude prices near $ 57 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were up 0.6 percent at $ 53.92 a barrel by 1638 GMT on Monday.
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