Russia's Energy Minister: Saudi Arabia May Cut Oil Output Below OPEC Deal Level

Saudi Arabia may reduce its oil output below the level specified in late November's Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) output cut deal, the country's Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih said Saturday.

VIENNA (Sputnik) — Oil-rich OPEC and non-OPEC countries struck a historic deal on Saturday for the latter to reduce oil output by around 600,000 barrels per day in the wake of the November 30 OPEC Vienna agreement to cut production by 1.2 million barrels per day. The summary cut amounts to some 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of 2017. The deal finalized a preliminary agreement reached in Algeria in September.

"I want to state with full certainty that we will significantly reduce output, starting in January, in order to ensure an output level below what we agreed to on November 30," Al-Falih said after the deal was closed.

The minister added that Saudi Arabia had already informed its clients of the plans to cut output.