The highly anticipated OPEC and non-OPEC producers meeting which held on Sunday, April 17, failed to reach a deal to freeze oil output, three oil industry sources told Reuters.
According to sources, OPEC producers had told non-OPEC members they needed first to reach a deal within OPEC, possibly at a June meeting. After that, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will be able to invite other producers to join.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia demanded that Iran join a global deal on freezing oil output, jeopardizing the chances of an agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC producers that was supposed to prop up the price of crude.
Some 18 countries, including Russia, had been due to meet yesterday morning in the Qatari capital of Doha to rubber-stamp a deal in the making since February to stabilize output at January levels until October 2016.
However, the meeting was postponed after OPEC’s de facto leader Saudi Arabia told participants it wanted all OPEC members to take part in the freeze, according to OPEC sources.
Riyadh had earlier insisted on excluding Iran from the talks because Tehran had refused to stabilize production, seeking to regain market share after the lifting of Western sanctions against it in January.
With the deal running into trouble, oil ministers in Doha met with the Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who was instrumental in promoting output stability in recent months.
