Alexander Novak says trust needed for global oil output deal to be success

MOSCOW, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Trust between oil producing countries is important if a global deal to curtail output is to succeed, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers led by Russia signed a deal to cut oil output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day in order to prop up weak prices.

OPEC countries have had a mixed history when it comes to complying with output targets, often reneging on their pledges.

But Novak said he was sanguine about the latest deal.

“We have no grounds to believe that someone will deviate (from the deal),” Novak told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

“It is important to keep trust between countries, If we fail, we will hardly be able to reach such deals in the future. The countries have to stick to these agreements,” he said.

Novak also said Russia’s output of hard-to-recover oil would increase by 20 percent this year compared to 2015.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Peter Hobson; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

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