BEIJING (Sputnik) — According to the joint Monday statement of the Russian and Saudi energy ministers, Russian and Saudi Arabia will propose to extend the Vienna agreement on oil output cuts for nine months at the upcoming ministerial meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), scheduled for May 24-25.
"I have recently, there is no secret, met with the leaders of all our largest oil and gas companies, with the minister of energy, behind the closed doors, we have discussed this topic. And we support such a proposal," Putin told reporters.
In November 2016, the OPEC member states reached an agreement to cut oil production by 1.2 million barrels per day in the first half of 2017 to boost global oil prices. The OPEC agreement was supported by 11 non-OPEC states, which promised to jointly reduce oil output by 558,000 barrels per day. Russia pledged to cut production by 300,000 barrels daily.
The deal expires in June and the decision on the future of the agreement will be made in Vienna on May 25.
