Twenty-four producers including Russia, Saudi Arabia and Riyadh’s partners in OPEC agreed in late 2016 to reduce output by around 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). While good news for motorists and industries dependent on oil products, the low price hurt the finances even of rich Gulf countries, to say nothing of stricken OPEC member Venezuela. Officially, Friday’s meeting at the headquarters of the OPEC of a six-nation monitoring committee is to review compliance with the accord. Kuwait’s oil minister said the meeting would not discuss an extension, but his Algerian counterpart told state media that it would, Bloomberg News reported. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is keen to see prices remain at a decent level ahead of the anticipated stock market flotation of state oil producer Saudi Aramco, Schieldrop said.

Source: New Strait Times September 22, 2017 02:37 UTC