Head of Russia's Transneft energy company Nikolay Tokarev said Wednesday, following a meeting with Russia's Energy Ministry, that Saudi Arabia had proposed holding a meeting on the situation on global oil market. According to Tokarev, OPEC is likely to hold the meeting in February, with oil production decrease on the agenda.
"The OPEC member states are currently trying to convene this meeting in February, which will be attended by both OPEC and non-OPEC members. Certain countries have proposed this initiative. This issue is currently being reviewed. We [Russia] confirmed our readiness to participate in this meeting… We can meet at any time. The date is still under discussion with other countries," Novak told journalists in response to when the meeting could take place.
Global oil prices have significantly dropped compared to those seen in the summer of 2014, falling from $100 to about $50 per barrel for Brent crude, primarily as a result of worldwide oversupply.
The prices' downturn has been also attributed to Saudi Arabia-led OPEC’s unwillingness to cut output in fear of losing market share.
The oil-dependent economies, including Russia have been hard- hit by the plummeting prices.
In late August, as oil prices decreased significantly, OPEC made a proposal to establish an inter-state dialogue in order to stabilize the market. The organizations noted that the slump undermined the socio-economic development of the countries that produce hydrocarbons.
In September, Russia, having observer status at OPEC, refused to become a member of the cartel, for reasons which included differences in technical approaches to oil production, as well as high level of privatization of the Russian energy market.
