OPEC Members, Other Oil Producers to Discuss Oil Freezes in March

The Venezuelan oil minister said that a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries member states and other oil producing countries on the issue of the freeze of oil output may take place mid-March.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries member states and other oil producing countries on the issue of the freeze of oil output may take place mid-March, the Venezuelan oil minister said.

"An expanded meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries that support production freeze will be held in mid-March," Eulogio Del Pino said on his Twitter account on Tuesday.

The minister added that consultations with all major oil producers would take place to agree on date and place of the meetings would also take place.

On February 16, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Venezuela held talks on the current oil market situation in the Qatari capital of Doha and agreed to proceed with the output freezing initiative if other countries followed suit. The proposal was later backed by Ecuador, Algeria, Nigeria and Oman.

The oversupply of oil on the world market and declining economic growth among leading consumers has resulted in oil prices reaching their lowest levels since 2004.