Oil ministers to meet in Russia as compliance focus turns to Africa

Oil exporters are set to meet in Russia on Monday to monitor compliance with production cuts as the focus turns toward output from Africa. Key OPEC and non-OPEC oil nations will discuss the situation in Libya and Nigeria at a meeting in St. Petersburg, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Sunday.
There has been speculation ahead of the meeting that the two African oil exporters will be asked to join a production cutting deal from which they are currently exempt. Six OPEC and non-OPEC ministers are due to discuss the market outlook and compliance with output cuts.
Novak also said Russian output had fallen by around 300,000 barrels per day since October. Ahead of the meeting, Kuwait’s oil minister Essam Al-Marzouq said that compliance with oil production cuts by OPEC and non-OPEC countries had been good and that deeper cuts were possible. Asked about the possibility of further cuts to support the price of crude, the minister said: “Everything is open.”
Al-Marzouq also told reporters that a technical committee of OPEC and non-OPEC countries was happy with reports from Libya and Nigeria, and that discussions would continue on Monday. Oil prices fell more than 2 percent on Friday, wiping out the week’s gains after a tanker-tracking firm reported supply from OPEC is rising.
Under a deal agreed last year, oil exporters committed to cut production in an effort to reduce global stockpiles that have depressed prices for more than two years. A large proportion of those stockpiles are held in the US.
Weekly US crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia have fallen sharply since early June. “Saudi Arabia is finally slashing exports to the US, even as shipments to other destinations — with less visible inventories — have been maintained, or even risen,” said Julian Lee, an oil strategist for Bloomberg First Word. “This is crucial, because the failure to drain US storage tanks has been a major factor in driving down oil prices.”