Novak: OPEC, Russia To Discuss All Possible Production Scenarios

OPEC and the Russia-led non-OPEC partners in the production cut deal could discuss all kinds of production scenarios at their meeting in Algeria at the end of this week, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday.

“I think we have the possibility to discuss any possible scenarios,” Reuters quoted Novak, who was responding to a question as to whether the OPEC and non-OPEC groups were planning to discuss lifting production levels from what they agreed in June this year.

In June, OPEC and allies agreed that they would aim for 100 percent compliance, down from the very high compliance rates of 150 percent in the months prior to the June meeting, to ease consumer concerns about the high oil prices and to ensure stable oil supply amid plunging production in Venezuela and returning sanctions on Iran.

OPEC and allies will also discuss supply and demand estimates for Q4, Novak said today. The fourth quarter will be the quarter in which U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil exports kick in, with analysts expecting 1 million bpd of Iranian oil, and possibly more, to come off the market.   

Russia has already reversed most of its own production cuts as part of the deal, and has been keeping production at near record levels in its post-Soviet history.  

OPEC’s leader and largest producer, Saudi Arabia, however, has so far shown production increases lower than the ones it initially hinted at in June.

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According to OPEC’s secondary sources, Saudi Arabia’s oil production in August was 10.401 million bpd, up by 38,000 bpd over July.

Ahead of the Algiers OPEC+ meeting at the end of this week, Russia’s Novak and Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih met in Moscow on Sunday to discuss the state of the oil market, the Russian energy ministry said. The parties vowed to ensure market stability and affirmed their readiness to react to changes in the oil market, the ministry’s statement said.  

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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