The deal underlines how Russia and Saudi Arabia are increasingly deciding oil output policies bilaterally, before consulting with the rest of OPEC. “The Saudi minister told (US Energy Secretary Rick) Perry that Saudi Arabia will raise output if its customers asked for more oil,” another source said. Saudi Arabia has spare capacity to produce oil at a higher rate and holds a large volume of crude in storage. “Perry was aware that Russia is going to ramp up oil output,” a third source familiar with talks said. “Saudi Arabia is not going to flood the market and risk a price crash.

Source: The Express Tribune October 03, 2018 12:11 UTC