“No Oil Freeze Deal at OPEC, Non-OPEC Meeting” – Sources

Leaders attending the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) summit pose for a picture at King Abdul Aziz Palace in Riyadh, 17 November 2007. OPEC heads of state met in Riyadh today for a rare summit, with the organisation divided over the falling US dollar and attempts to give a political impetus to the oil-exporting cartel. Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez took the podium for the opening as he joined fellow leaders from OPEC oil-exporting countries for only the third gathering of heads of state in the organisation's 47-year history. AFP PHOTO/HASSAN AMMAR (Photo credit should read HASSAN AMMAR/AFP/Getty Images)

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.

 

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