OPEC and Russia have postponed a meeting planned for Monday until later next week, OPEC sources said on Saturday, as a row intensified between Moscow and Saudi Arabia over who is to blame for plunging oil prices.
FILE PHOTO: Saudi Arabia's Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud and Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak are seen at the beginning of an OPEC and Non-OPEC meeting in Vienna, Austria December 6, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo
Oil prices hit an 18-year low on March 30 due to sliding demand caused by government lockdowns to contain the coronavirus outbreak, and the failure of OPEC and other producers led by Russia to extend an earlier deal on output curbs that expired on March 31. Putin, speaking during a video conference with government officials and heads of Russian major oil producers on Friday, said the first reason for the fall in prices was the impact of the coronavirus on demand.
Sources later downplayed the Saudi-Russia row, saying the atmosphere was still positive, although there is no draft deal yet or agreement on details such as a reference level from which to make the supply cuts. The United States is not part of OPEC+ and the idea of Washington curbing production has long been seen as impossible, not least because of U.S. antitrust laws.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told Russian state media he understood that the United States has legal restrictions on output cuts, but it should still be flexible.
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