OPEC-Non-OPEC May Return To 2017-2018 Approach In Future If Necessary - Novak

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC oil producers may use the 2017-2018 approach after the Vienna agreement expires, should the situation require this course of action, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2018) The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC oil producers may use the 2017-2018 approach after the Vienna agreement expires, should the situation require this course of action, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Monday.

"We are now are nearing the end of the [OPEC-non-OPEC oil production cut] agreement. We will consider how we will be cooperating in 2019 and in the year after that because the agreement has, in fact, demonstrated its effectiveness, and if some challenging situations occur in the future, we will be able to return to the approach that existed in 2017-2018," Novak said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 broadcaster.

In 2016, OPEC and a number of non-cartel oil producers agreed to cut oil production by 1.8 million barrels per day. The deal came into effect in 2017 and has since been extended until the end of 2018.

According to Novak, in May, compliance with the deal was 157 percent, while in August, compliance stood at 129 percent. Following Sunday's meeting of the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), the countries agreed to try and bring compliance down to an even 100 percent.