Saturday 6 June 2020

Qatari Officials Say Ready to Resolve Gulf Crisis With Dialogue - Bloomberg

Qatari Officials Say Ready to Resolve Gulf Crisis With Dialogue - Bloomberg:

Qatar wants to resolve a diplomatic rift with its Arab Gulf neighbors, now in its fourth year, through dialogue, officials said.

“Qatar on every occasion has confirmed its readiness to work with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and other international bodies to solve the current crisis through unconditional dialogue,” Sheikha Alya Al Thani, the permanent representative of Qatar to the United Nations, was quoted as saying by the official Qatar News Agency.

A similar remark was made on Friday by Qatar’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who in an interview with Al-Jazeera television referred to a “new initiative” to resolve the rift and said that Qatar was eager to maintain Gulf unity.

Earlier this week, Kuwait, which has been acting as a mediator between Qatar and its Gulf Arab neighbors, said there was progress toward resolving the standoff.

Russia to cut 2020 oil output to 510-520 million tonnes: energy minister - Reuters

Russia to cut 2020 oil output to 510-520 million tonnes: energy minister - Reuters:

Russia will cut its crude oil production to 510-520 million tonnes in 2020 from around 561 million tonnes in 2019, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Saturday.

Novak, speaking shortly after OPEC, Russia and others agreed to extend record oil production cuts until the end of July, said the United States had cut its oil output by 1.9 million barrels per day.

Russia will fully comply with the deal this month, Novak told reporters in Moscow.

OPEC, Russia extend record oil cuts to end of July - Reuters

OPEC, Russia extend record oil cuts to end of July - Reuters:

OPEC, Russia and allies agreed on Saturday to extend record oil production cuts until the end of July, prolonging a deal that has helped crude prices double in the past two months by withdrawing almost 10% of global supplies from the market.

The group, known as OPEC+, also demanded countries such as Nigeria and Iraq, which exceeded production quotas in May and June, compensate with extra cuts in July to September.

OPEC+ had initially agreed in April that it would cut supply by 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) during May-June to prop up prices that collapsed due to the coronavirus crisis. Those cuts were due to taper to 7.7 million bpd from July to December.

“Demand is returning as big oil-consuming economies emerge from pandemic lockdown. But we are not out of the woods yet and challenges ahead remain,” Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told the video conference of OPEC+ ministers.

OPEC and allies to agree one-month extension to output cuts - Reuters

OPEC and allies to agree one-month extension to output cuts - Reuters:

OPEC and its allies led by Russia are “most likely” to agree on a one-month extension to an oil production cuts deal on Saturday, an OPEC delegate said.

The delegate, who spoke on condition that he not be identified, said: “It is most likely that the meeting today will result in an extension of the agreement for one month only. This is the general trend within OPEC+.”

The oil producing states meet on Saturday to approve extending record oil production cuts and to push countries such as Iraq and Nigeria to comply better with existing curbs.

OPEC, Russia meet to extend record oil cuts, push for compliance - Reuters

OPEC, Russia meet to extend record oil cuts, push for compliance - Reuters:

OPEC and its allies led by Russia meet on Saturday over plans to extend record oil production cuts and to push countries such as Iraq and Nigeria to comply better with existing curbs.

Nigeria’s oil minister said he expected a deal on an extension, which has the backing of Saudi Arabia and Russia, to be concluded in the video conference talks despite “reservations of one or two member countries,” which he did not name.

The alliance known as OPEC+ previously agreed to cut supply by a record 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) during May-June to prop up prices that collapsed due to the coronavirus crisis. Cuts were due to taper to 7.7 million bpd from July to December.

OPEC+ sources have said Riyadh and Moscow agreed to extend existing record cuts throughout July, while they said Riyadh wanted a further extension to August and possibly even December.