Saudis Dig In for Shale Fight as OPEC Extends Cuts to 2020 - Bloomberg

Saudis Dig In for Shale Fight as OPEC Extends Cuts to 2020 - Bloomberg:

Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s dominant producer, pledged to keep doing the heavy lifting as the cartel was all but forced to extend its effort to counter the U.S. shale boom into a fourth year.

After ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries settled on continuing production limits for another nine months, Saudi Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih used the closing press conference to say the kingdom was willing to keep cutting more deeply than its quota requires.

“This is a commitment to reduce inventories, and whatever it takes for them to do it,” said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at Energy Aspects Ltd. The Saudis are likely to keep production at around 10 million barrels a day -- below their target -- and “if required after nine months, they will continue with the deal.”