Saudi Arabia Supports Extension of OPEC Deal on Oil Output Cuts

Saudi Arabia wants the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to extend its agreement on oil production cuts to the second half of 2017, media reported Tuesday citing informed sources.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Under the six-month Vienna Agreement that took effect on January 1, OPEC countries pledged to reduce oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day to boost the oil prices. Non-OPEC countries agreed to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day, with Russia promising to scale down its production by 300,000 barrels on a daily basis.

Saudi Arabia would advocate the prolongation of the Vienna Agreement for another six months during the OPEC meeting in May, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said citing people familiar with the matter.

According to WSJ, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Falih initially was reluctant to voice support for the deal's extension, but changed his mind and decided to support the renewal of the agreement.

Additionally, the sources told WSJ that Russian officials were consulting with the country's oil producers about the feasibility of oil output cuts extension.