Saudi Arabia and Kuwait Signal OPEC Cut Deal Extension

Leading Gulf oil exporters Saudi Arabia and Kuwait gave a clear signal on Thursday that OPEC plans to extend into the second half of the year a deal with non-member producers to curb supplies of crude.

Consensus is growing among oil producers that a supply restraint pact that started in January should be prolonged after its initial six-month term, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said.

“There is consensus building but it’s not done yet,” Falih told reporters at a conference in the United Arab Emirates.

Kuwait’s oil minister Essam al-Marzouq said he expected the agreement to be extended.

“Russia is on board preliminarily … Compliance from Russia is very good,” Marzouq said.

OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo, noting that Marzouq chairs a committee that measures compliance with the cuts, said: “It is significant that the Kuwaiti minister has come out in public and said this.”

OPEC is keen that non-member producers play their promised part in supporting the group’s efforts to lift prices, which have recovered to $53 a barrel from lows last year below $30.

via Reuters

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