Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said they agreed to extend their oil production cuts by 9 months to support oil prices amid a weakening world economy.
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said the cartel recognizes that this year’s first quarter was a period of slow demand. The agreement will go to approval from non-OPEC allies, including Russia, at a July 2 meeting in Vienna.
Al-Falih said a new charter of cooperation was drafted and will be published. Ahead of the July 1 meeting, OPEC had been widely expected to extend cuts by at least 6 months.
Iraq’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh already told reporters in Vienna he had “no problem” with supporting oil supply cuts by 9 months.
OPEC and some non-OPEC producers have been reducing oil production since 2017 to support oil prices worldwide.
Al-Falih said he would like world oil inventories to be in the level they were in 2010-14 rather than what he called a “bloated 5-year average.”
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