Azerbaijani Energy Ministry: Measures should be sustainable to ensure oil price stability

Baku. 15 May. REPORT.AZ/ “At present, OPEC and non-cartel countries talk to extend Vienna agreement on production cut reached on November 30 for another 6 months and Azerbaijan has declared its support to extension of the agreement”.

The spokeswoman of the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Azerbaijan Zamina Aliyeva told Report.

Talking about statements of Saudi Arabian and Russian energy ministers related to recommendation to participant countries to extend the agreement until late March 2018, she noted that current subject of talks is the prolongation of the agreement until year end.

“OPEC and non-OPEC countries express their positions related to next 6 months. Azerbaijan's position is known. The measures should be sustainable to establish price stability in oil market. Which decision will be next, we will know on May 25 based on conducted analyses. That’s’ why, we should wait the meeting of ministers”, Z. Aliyeva noted.

She told that Azerbaijani Energy Minister Natig Aliyev will attend the next summit in Vienna, May 25.

Notably, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia Khalid Al-Falih earlier said that OPEC and countries outside the cartel reached a preliminary consensus on extending the Vienna agreement signed on November 30, 2016.

At the same time, Khalid Al-Falih and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak in a joint statement after their meeting in Beijing said that S.Arabia and Russia are going to recommend at next summit on May 25 to extend the deal until the end of March 2018, retaining the previous quota of 1.8 mln barrels per day.

Notably, on November 30, 2016 OPEC countries agreed to reduce daily oil output by 1.2 mln barrel to keep it at 32.5 barrel/day. On December 10, in Vienna 11 non-member countries, including Azerbaijan signed agreement with OPEC to reduce overall daily production by 558 thousand barrels. The agreement covers first half of this year.

Thus, Azerbaijan fully fulfilled its obligation to reduce output by 35,000 barrels/day in conformity with agreement among 11 countries to reduce overall daily output by 558,000 barrels from January 1, 2017. Notably, daily oil output in the country during January was 793.9 thousand barrels, in February – 776.4 thousand barrels, in March – 733.3 thousand barrels and in April – 781.1 thousand barrels.