Tue 20 October 2020:
The Kremlin said, Monday, that Russia and Saudi Arabia have held talks on restoring stability to the global oil market, at a time when prices fluctuate around $40-43 for Brent crude.
The Kremlin did not provide further details on the talks in its statement, however, last week, the International Energy Agency expected global demand for crude oil to fall by 8.4 million barrels per day to 91.7 million barrels per day in 2020 compared to 2019.
Meanwhile, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC expected last Tuesday global oil demand to decrease by 9.47 million barrels per day in 2020, to 90.3 million barrels per day.
The Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have made two phone calls to discuss crude oil markets since 13 October.
According to separate statements by the Kremlin issued during the past two weeks, the two sides have exchanged views on the progress achieved by the OPEC + agreement, and confirmed their readiness to continue coordination in order to maintain stability in the crude market.
Last April, the OPEC + group reached an agreement to reduce oil production by 9.7 million barrels per day in a bid to support prices. Later in August, the group decided to reduce production to 7.7 million barrels per day until the end of 2020, and then to 5.8 million barrels per day until the end of April 2022.
Russia is the second largest producer of crude oil in the world, with an average daily production of 11.3 million barrels in normal conditions, followed by Saudi Arabia with an average of 10-11 million barrels per day.
Article Originally Published in Middle East Monitor CLICK HERE
