OPEC and non-OPEC Producers to Extend Cuts by 9 Months

Oil

OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers have agreed to extend their 1.8M b/d production cut deal for nine months, until March 2018. The move follows a meeting in Vienna between the 14 OPEC member countries and 10 participating non-OPEC countries. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih announced that the group considered various scenarios from 6 to 9 to 12 months and also options for higher cuts. He stated that indications suggest that a 9-month extension should bring the market to within the five-year average of inventories by the end of the year with the cuts continuing through to March to offset any seasonal build in stocks.