OPEC Wraps Closed Part of Talks on Finalizing Oil Output Cap Deal in Vienna

The closed session of the 171st ordinary meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member states held on Wednesday in the Austrian capital has ended.

VIENNA (Sputnik) — The OPEC talks held at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna were aimed at sealing the deal reached in Algiers on September 28, which seeks to set the oil output ceiling at 32.5-33 million barrels a day for the cartel.

Earlier in the day, Bloomberg reported that OPEC agreed to cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels a day to 32.5 million a day. Oil prices surged following the news. As of 9am (EST), Brent crude showed an 8% hike and was trading over $50.

Later in the day, President of the OPEC Conference Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, who is also Qatar's Minister of Energy and Industry, and cartel’s Secretary General Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo will give a press conference to reveal results of the ministerial meeting.

In September, OPEC members reached a preliminary deal in Algeria to cap oil production at 32.5-33 million barrels per day.

Oil market turbulence caused oil prices to plunge from $115 per barrel in June 2014 to less than $30 per barrel in January 2016, causing hardship for oil exporters and placing a number of global oil producers at risk of bankruptcy. Since then, prices have slightly increased and are currently at $45-50 per barrel.

The previous oil producers' talks to freeze output failed in April after Iran refused to limit its output, prompting Saudi Arabia to pull out as well. Under the new deal, Iran has been granted exemptions from production cuts alongside Libya and Nigeria.