SULAIMANI (ESTA) — OPEC and allies including Russia postponed talks on oil production policy for 2021 to Thursday, three sources told Reuters on Monday.
OPEC+, consisting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other allies, were scheduled to hold a meeting on Tuesday.
Reuters cited sources as saying that Russia suggested a possibility for OPEC+ to start increasing production by 0.5 million barrels per day each month from January.
The group had been due to ease current production cuts by 2 million barrels per day (bpd) from January, but with demand still under pressure from the pandemic, OPEC+ was considering extending current cuts into the first months of next year, a position backed by de facto OPEC leader Saudi Arabia, sources said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said differences between Russia and OPEC were not as severe as in early 2020, when disagreements led to a collapse in talks and a surge in output.
Peskov, however, said Russian President Vladimir Putin had no plans to call Saudi Arabia’s leadership before the OPEC+ meeting, a move that in the past has helped smooth over any dispute.
OPEC+ has to strike a delicate balance of pushing up prices enough to help their budgets but not so much that rival U.S. output surges. U.S. shale production tends to climb as prices rise above $50 a barrel. Adding to the challenge within OPEC+, Moscow’s finances can tolerate lower oil prices than Riyadh’s.
