Another round of talks between the oil producing countries may be held in Russia in October.
In February, the energy ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Venezuela, and Russia agreed to strike a deal on freezing oil production at levels reached in January, 2016 if other countries followed suit. A number of oil producers, including OPEC members Ecuador, Algeria, Nigeria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates and non-OPEC member Oman, expressed interest in joining the potential deal early on.
Saudi Arabia, which is one of the world`s leading oil producers, previously stated that it would agree to freeze its output if Iran joins the Doha deal.
Later, Russian and Saudi Arabian representatives reportedly reached consensus, with Saudi Arabia allegedly agreeing to make its final decision on freezing output without Iran`s participation in the deal, partially backtracking on its original statements.
On Saturday, the country`s defense minister again backtracked and stated that Saudi Arabia would freeze output on condition that other major oil producers, including Iran, follow suit.
Oil production at January levels to freeze until October 1, 2016
17 April 2016
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Oil production at January levels will be frozen to offset the glut in global oil and steady oil prices that have declined to a third of their peak level between 2014 and 2015, the Doha agreement stipulates.
