Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi discussed co-operation between OPEC members and other oil producers to stabilize the global oil market with his Venezuelan counterpart on Sunday, state news agency SPA reported.
Venezuela’s Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino, who is on a tour of oil producers to lobby for action to prop up prices, said his meeting with Mr. Naimi was “productive,” his ministry reported.
Cash-strapped OPEC member Venezuela has been calling for an emergency meeting of producers to discuss steps to prop up prices, which are close to their lowest since 2003.
The prospect of supply restraint by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and rivals helped oil prices rise above $34 (U.S.) a barrel on Friday from a 12-year low close to $27 last month, despite widespread skepticism that a deal will happen.
“It was a successful meeting and [conducted] in a positive atmosphere,” SPA cited Mr. al-Naimi as saying.
Both ministers discussed Mr. Del Pino’s visits to other oil producers and the outcome of his “meetings that aim toward the co-operation of those countries to stabilize the international oil market,” Mr. al-Naimi said.
However, the comments by Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, show no indication of a shift in the country’s policy of refusing to cut supplies to prop up crude prices, some OPEC delegates said.
“They seem like just general talk about co-operation, but nothing about cutting production,” one OPEC source said.
“It’s always good to say discussions were positive and productive. Never say they were negative. The issue is not with Venezuela; it is with Iran,” another OPEC source said.
Sources familiar with the matter say Iran is reluctant to restrain crude supply as it wants to recover the market share it lost during sanctions that were imposed in 2012 because of its nuclear program. International sanctions were lifted in January.
Source: The Globe and Mail
