Saudis Urge OPEC+ to Stick With Oil Cuts as Job Not Yet Done - Bloomberg

Saudis Urge OPEC+ to Stick With Oil Cuts as Job Not Yet Done - Bloomberg:

OPEC and its allies have much work ahead to balance global oil markets and are prepared to do what’s necessary in the second half, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said.

The 24-nation coalition known as OPEC+ needs to “stay the course” until June as its job is “nowhere near complete” in terms of restoring oil-market fundamentals, Al-Falih said late Sunday at a news conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. U.S. inventories remain significantly above normal levels, and there is a risk of oversupply in the short term, he said.

But there was less full-throated support for extending the OPEC+ output-cuts agreement from Russia and Iraq -- the pact’s other two biggest producers. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said at the same briefing that uncertainties arising from production in Venezuela and Iran make it difficult for the coalition to determine its next step before May or June.