Saudi Arabia says May will be key to decide on extending supply cut deal

RIYADH: The Saudi energy minister said on Monday it was premature to say whether there was consensus among OPEC and its allies to extend a supply cut agreement, but a meeting in May would be key as by then the effect of current reductions would be clearer.

A joint OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial committee known as the JMMC is set to meet in May.

“JMMC will be a key decision point because we will certainly by then know where the consensus view is and, more importantly, before we ask for consensus, we will know where the fundamentals are pointing. I think May is going to be key,” Khalid al-Falih said.

Oil inventories remain higher than average but the market is on its way towards rebalancing, Falih added.

Saudi Arabia had indicated it wants the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies to curb output by at least 1.3 million barrels per day, or 1.3 percent of global production.

Riyadh wants Moscow to contribute at least 250,000-300,000 bpd to the cut but Russia insists the amount should be only half of that, OPEC and non-OPEC sources had told Reuters late last year.

Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States have been vying for the position of top crude producer in recent years. The United States is not part of any output-limiting initiative due to its anti-trust legislation and fragmented oil industry.