Talks on Oil Extraction Cuts Conducted With Individual States, Not OPEC

Negotiations on a possible freezing and reduction of oil extraction levels between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other oil producing states are not being held with the entire cartel, but with individual countries, including OPEC members, Russia’s permanent envoy said Tuesday.

VIENNA (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Qatar agreed to freeze oil production at January levels if other countries agree to join the initiative.

"Such negotiations to freeze or curb [oil extraction] are not conducted directly with OPEC as it is. The negotiations are being conducted with individual OPEC countries, as I understand it with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, it would be wrong to say that there is an agreement with OPEC," Vladimir Voronkov told RIA Novosti.

Voronkov said that Russia’s stance on the issue was to freeze oil extraction at a certain level to regulate global oil prices.

The next ministerial meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC countries is set for June 2, where oil producing states will attempt to determine oil extraction quotas, according to the Russian envoy.

Since the collapse in oil prices in the first half of January, officials from OPEC member states and non-OPEC countries have been considering holding a meeting to address the declining oil prices, which have caused significant financial problems for some states.

Meanwhile, oil prices slowed on Tuesday after reports over an alleged agreement between Russia and a number of OPEC countries to freeze their levels of extractions.