Russia and Saudi Arabia are “very, very close” to reaching an agreement on oil production cuts, the CEO of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund RDIF said on Monday.
Speaking on CNBC, Kirill Dmitriev said that Russia is committed to constructive talks and is also working very close to the U.S., the Texas regulators and other stakeholders, Kallanish Energy reports.
“I think the whole market understands that this deal is important,” he said. “It’s Russia, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. that need to step in to stabilize the markets and to bring stability in the world that is about to see probably the greatest recession ever.”
The Opec+ alliance was set to virtually meet on Monday, but the emergency meeting is said to have been rescheduled to Thursday, April 9 to allow more time for negotiations. The new date is a day before the G-20 meeting hosted by Saudi Arabia.
Predatory behavior will be retaliated
Meanwhile, the U.S. energy secretary Dan Broulleitte said on Monday that Washington will “encourage the Saudis as chair of the G-20 to perhaps convene an energy ministerial toward the end of the week,” to discuss the oil market. “I expect that that’s going to happen later this week.”
This could potentially bring other major producers such as Canada and Brazil, which aren’t part of Opec, to the negotiating table.
He didn’t say whether the U.S. would take part in coordinated action, as per Russia’s requirement, but noted that the U.S. was already adjusting its own free market, with companies making changes at their pace and the government offering storage to oil producers.
Broulleitte also said that the “predatory” measures by Saudi Arabia and Russia is a “direct attack on the U.S. shale industry,” and there could be consequences. “All optiosn are on the table. For those who would take a predatory advantage of the U.S. market, the President (of the U.S.) will react accordingly.”
Ready to cooperate with Saudis, Americans
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow maintains close contact with its “partners” in Saudi Arabia and recently spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump on the phone.
“We are all concerned about the situation. We are all interested in joint, and let me emphasize, well-coordinated, actions for ensuring the long-term stability of the market,” Putin said.
He stressed that Russia deems necessary to pool efforts. “As I said, we did not initiate the breakup of the Opec+ deal. We are always ready to reach an agreement with our partners, in the Opec+ format, and we are prepared to cooperate with the United States on this issue,” Putin added.
Both Trump and Putin said cuts should be around 10 million barrels per day.
This post appeared first on Kallanish Energy News.
