Photographer: Andrey Rudakov / Bloomberg
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov / Bloomberg
OPEC + will react more quickly to change and take a more practical approach to the oil market, thanks to its accelerated schedule of monthly meetings, according to Russia and Saudi Arabia, the group’s leaders.
More frequent OPEC + conferences mean that decision-makers in oil-producing countries will lead the market in the coming months, not speculators, said Saudi Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman. He spoke to reporters after talks in Riyadh on Saturday with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.
“We meet monthly because we believe the market is not yet recovered and is still extremely volatile,” Novak said. “We need to take a practical approach and be able to react faster.”
After a difficult round of talks in early December, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed to meet each month, a significant acceleration of their typical bi-annual program. The next meeting is on January 4, when they will consider whether to add up to 500,000 barrels per day of production to the market.
The two ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the group and the reduction of its production. The economic ties between the two countries were expanding, with the increase in bilateral trade and joint investments from their sovereign wealth funds, they said.
“We are on the same page in our commitment” to ensure that the oil market is stable, Prince Abdulaziz said. The face-to-face talks in Riyadh, which will be followed by another meeting in March, are a step towards a stronger relationship, Novak said.
Following his trip to Saudi Arabia, Novak will meet with Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh in Moscow on Monday, according to the Russian official’s press service. Zanganeh also plans to meet with his Russian counterpart Nikolay Shulginov as part of his visit to discuss the latest developments in the oil market, the Iranian ministry’s news service reported. Shulginov’s spokesman confirmed the meeting’s plans.
Zanganeh said this week that Iran intends to do so it will double its oil production to around 4.5 million barrels a day in 2021. This would conflict with OPEC + ‘s efforts to stabilize the market by gradually increasing the group’ s production.
– With the assistance of Golnar Motevalli
(Updates with details on the Iranian oil minister’s visit to Russia in the last two paragraphs.)