Russia, Saudi Arabia look to extend OPEC supply cut to March, 2018
On Tuesday, the prime minister of Iraq said his country is committed to reducing the global oil glut and will support an extension of the OPEC supply cut in line with any OPEC decision, according to a Reuters report.
On May 25, OPEC will meet in Vienna, Austria to consider extending the agreement to at least December, possibly into March of next year.
“Iraq is with the continuation of a reduction of oil production of OPEC nations and we will push in that direction,” Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said in a news conference broadcast on state TV.
On Monday, Russia and Saudi Arabia, the world’s two largest oil producers, both voiced support for extending the pact to the end of the first quarter of 2018.
Abadi did not elaborate on how long Iraq would agree to cut its production, but last week, the Iraqi oil minister said the country would support a six-month extension.
Kazakhstan, a non-OPEC member participating in the OPEC supply cut, said on Monday it would struggle to meet the terms of a new deal as its output was set to increase.
Kuwait, Oman and Venezuela have voiced support for an extension of the pact to the end of March.
So far, the OPEC agreement has had little impact on global oil supplies as stockpiles remain near record highs, partly due to increased US production.