Russia Sees OPEC+ Taking a Wait-and-See Approach on Deeper Cuts - Bloomberg

Russia Sees OPEC+ Taking a Wait-and-See Approach on Deeper Cuts - Bloomberg:

Russia and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries need to analyze the global oil market before deciding on any potential changes in their output-cuts agreement, the Kremlin said two weeks ahead of the alliance’s next meeting.

“It’s obvious that the countries will look at how the situation is developing,” Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, told reporters when asked if Russia sees any need for deeper OPEC+ cuts in response to the global oil glut. The agreement has a strictly defined timeline and Russia will be a responsible participant, he said. 

OPEC+, which agreed to cut production until April 2022 in an effort to balance the market following the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic, is set to hold a video conference on June 9-10 to discuss the impact on the deal that kicked off this month. The production cuts are scheduled to taper off from July and the group could use next month’s meeting to decide on future output policy.

The agreement to slash supply has paid off so far. Saudi Arabia has agreed to cut deeper than its share, and there have been forced shut-ins by producers from outside the group, such as the U.S. This has raised some questions about whether Russia, the de-facto leader of the OPEC+ alliance with the Saudis, will follow Riyadh’s lead.