Qatari Energy Minister Praises Role of Russia's Novak in Oil Output Cut Deal

Qatar's Energy Minister Mohammed Saleh Sada stated that his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak played a key role in the agreement reached in Vienna between OPEC and non-OPEC states on reducing oil output.

DOHA (Sputnik) — Qatar's Energy Minister Mohammed Saleh Sada applauded on Tuesday his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak's key role in reaching last year's oil output cut deal between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other oil producing states.

"Alexander Novak played a key role in the agreement reached in Vienna between OPEC and non-OPEC states on reducing oil output," Sada said at the opening of a Russian-Qatari intergovernmental commission session in Doha.

The agreement has significantly helped stabilize the global oil market, he added.

OPEC resolved to cut its collective daily output by 1.2 million barrels for the first half of 2017 in November last year. The cartel was joined by 11 non-OPEC states under the agreement that they reduce oil output jointly by 558,000 barrels per day. Russia pledged to cut production by 300,000 barrels daily. OPEC has already implemented its commitment while non-cartel countries have implemented over half of the agreed-upon cuts.

The output cuts aimed to stem the oil slump which saw prices dip to below $30 per barrel by the start of 2016, levels unseen since the early 2000s.