OPEC members have reached a consensus on extending the existing oil cuts by the OPEC+ group that amount to 7.7 million barrel per day oil by three months from January, Algeria’s energy minister said on Monday.
Abdelmadjid Attar, whose country holds OPEC’s rotating presidency, said OPEC would work to convince other members in the OPEC+ alliance at their meeting on Tuesday to back that policy for an extension, Algeria’s state news agency APS reported.
OPEC and allies led by Russia postponed talks on oil output policy for 2021 to Thursday, three sources said on Monday as key players still disagreed on how much oil they should pump amid weak demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.
OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other allies, had been scheduled to hold its meeting on Tuesday at 1300 GMT.
The group had been due to ease existing production cuts by 2 million barrels per day (bpd) from January.
But with demand still under pressure amid the coronavirus pandemic, OPEC+ has been considering extending existing cuts of 7.7 million bpd, about 8% of global demand, into the first months of 2021, a position backed by Saudi Arabia, sources said.
After consultations on Sunday failed to reach agreement, sources said Russia suggested a possibility for OPEC+ to start increasing output by 0.5 million bpd each month from January.
Further complicating the picture, OPEC member the United Arab Emirates was also signalling it would be willing to support a rollover only if members improved compliance with cuts.
