Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khaled al-Faleh on Sunday called for extending cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers beyond 2018 after a deal to shore up crude prices. We need to be talking about a longer framework for our cooperation,” Faleh said before a meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC countries in Muscat. This is the first time OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia explicitly calls for extending a 2016 deal between oil producers to cut back production to combat a global oil glut. “I am talking about extending the framework that we started –- which is the declaration of cooperation -– beyond 2018,” Faleh told reporters. Faleh said oil producers have not yet achieved their target of reducing world stocks to normal levels and striking a balance between supply and demand.

Source: Punch January 21, 2018 08:26 UTC