Feb 20, 2020, 8:47 PM

Oil min. holds phone talk with Russia’s energy min. on reducing oil output

TEHRAN, Feb. 20 (MNA) – Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh held a phone conversation with the Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak on Thu. with regards to the cooperation of the two countries within the framework of OPEC Plus.

During the telephone conversation, Energy Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak and Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh exchanged their views on the current situation of the global oil market and mutual cooperation within the framework of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Since 2017, OPEC has agreed with some non-OPEC countries, within the framework of OPEC Plus, to reduce oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd).

This agreement was extended from last summer in 2019 up to March 2020 which allows OPEC Plus’s oil producers to cut their daily oil production of 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) as compared to Oct. 2018.

Given the developments of the world oil market due to the outbreak of coronavirus, the 178th extraordinary meeting of OPEC oil and energy ministers and “OPEC and Non-OPEC Joint Meeting’ will be held on March 4-5, 2020.

OPEC Plus, which now includes 11 OPEC members and 10 non-OPEC nations, aims to shore up oil prices with production cuts.

MNA/4857924

News ID 155846