Russia is not yet ready to say whether it will freeze oil production or merely will cut its output, Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak said on Oct. 23 after talks with his Saudi counterpart, Khalid al-Falih.
He said Russia is still negotiating acceptable oil output level with OPEC. "We still have time till Nov. 30 when OPEC plans to arrive at a common decision. Now we are squaring our positions," the press service of the Russian energy ministry quoted him as saying. "It is too early to speak about any concrete figures."
In his words, production freeze is a matter of a short-term period whereas global energy market stability and energy market security require strategic cooperation.
The Russian minister also said he is confident the current talks on oil production regulation will yield positive results.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told the World Energy Congress in Turkey’s Istanbul on Oct. 11 that Russia is ready to join the production freeze or output cuts to maintain the market stability. He said it would help speed up the market balance recovery.
Source: TASS