Russia and Saudi Arabia Call On OPEC+ Members to Join Production Cuts

• After Vladimir Putin met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, both countries emphasized the need for all OPEC+ members to adhere to production cuts.
• The Kremlin originally used the word "join" but a later translation used the phrase "adhere to", a phrase that was repeated by Saudi Arabia.
• With oil prices having fallen dramatically since the last OPEC+ meeting, the two countries are eager to push prices higher.

Russia and Saudi Arabia are calling on all other OPEC+ producers to join the production cuts, the Kremlin said after Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh.

The two leaders of the top OPEC+ producers stressed “the need for all participating countries to join to the OPEC+ agreement, in a way that serves the interests of producers and consumers and supports the growth of the global economy,” according to a statement from the Kremlin in Russian, carried by Reuters.

The Russian version used the word “join” while an English translation of the statement, also released by the Kremlin, used the word “adhere” to the OPEC+ agreement, Reuters notes.

The Saudi Press Agency also used “adhere” in the joint statement released after Putin’s visit.

“In the field of energy, the two sides commended the close cooperation between them and the successful efforts of the OPEC+ countries in enhancing the stability of global oil markets,” the agency said.

“They stressed the importance of continuing this cooperation, and the need for all participating countries to adhere to the OPEC+ agreement, in a way that serves the interests of producers and consumers and supports the growth of the global economy.”

Putin is visiting Saudi Arabia on a rare trip abroad which also includes a visit to another major Gulf oil producer, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The visit comes less than a week after OPEC+ disappointed markets with an underwhelming announcement of production cuts for early next year and the lack of a unanimous agreement on a group-wide supply reduction.

Earlier this week, both Saudi Arabia and Russia said, via their respective top oilmen, that OPEC+ is ready to extend or deepen the oil production cuts if needed. The group is ready to take additional measures and deepen the oil production cuts in the first quarter of 2024 to avoid volatility and speculation on the market, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday. Earlier in the week, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told Bloomberg that the OPEC+ production cuts could extend beyond March 2024 if the market requires it, criticizing commentators for failing to understand the output deal.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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