Putin Played Big Role in Reaching Deal on Oil Output Cuts - Russian PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin played a big role in agreements of oil-producing states on oil output cuts, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On Saturday, OPEC and non-OPEC countries struck a historic deal for the latter to reduce oil output by around 600,000 barrels per day in the wake of the cartel’s November's 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.

"I thank everyone who took part in the talks, Vladimir Putin played a significant role when he spoke to colleagues to reach an agreement," Medvedev told Russian television channels in an interview.

He added that Moscow had made attempts to contribute to the process of reaching an agreement despite the fact that Russia was not the member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

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 currently stand at $45-50 per barrel.