Opec, non-Opec meeting results in little

OREANDA-NEWS. October 13, 2016. A meeting of five Opec members and two non-Opec producers on the side-lines of the World Energy Congress (WEC) resulted in nothing more than a resolution to do it all again, hopefully in greater numbers, later this month.

The meeting, attended by Opec members Qatar, the UAE, Venezuela, Algeria and Gabon and non-Opec countries Russia and Mexico, was aimed at formulating a way forward for combined action to restrain production, reduce a supply overhang and allow prices to rise.

Non-Opec producers will now be invited to a technical meeting in Vienna, on 28-29 October. But Qatar's oil minister Mohammad al-Sada, who is Opec's president, said he did not know which countries will be invited.

"We have a list of non-Opec countries and we have to refine and expand it and get as many non-Opec countries as possible. We will urge them to come and join," he said.

Key Opec producers Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq were absent from today's meeting. Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih and his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak met yesterday. They expressed satisfaction with Opec's decision to work towards an agreement to restrain output at a range of between 32.5mn-33mn b/d.

Novak, who has said Russia could agree to a production freeze rather than a cut, said today's meeting had not dealt with any production figures. He declined to say at what level Russia would agree to freeze its output once Opec countries have agreed to restrain their output, and said Opec producers will be discussing the parameters governing their new output range "up until the last minute" before their 30 November ministerial meeting in Vienna.