SULAIMANI (ESTA) — A panel of OPEC+, a group of leading oil producing countries, will hold informal online talks on Sunday, Reuters reported.
Reuters cited a source with the knowledge of the matter as saying that the talks, initially scheduled for Saturday, would be now held on Sunday.
The group is debating whether to ease oil output cuts from January 1, as it previously agreed, or to continue producing at the same rate amid sluggish oil demand and the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
The letter from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries had initially said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak will attend Saturday’s informal consultations of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee’s heads, according to Reuters.
Novak was energy minister until earlier this month, leading Moscow’s efforts to forge close ties with OPEC and clinch the deal on output cuts.
OPEC+ will meet on November 30 and December 1 to decide output policy for next year.
The group was due to raise output by 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in January – about 2% of global consumption – as part of a steady easing of record supply cuts implemented this year.
But with demand for fuel weakening because of a second wave of the pandemic, OPEC+ has been considering delaying the increase or even making further cuts.
