Russia
is open for talks with other major oil producers on freezing output as
the market is unlikely to balance until next year, Energy Minister
Alexander Novak said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat.
The country is committed to continuing dialogue to stabilize the market, Novak said, according to the Saudi-owned newspaper.
The
minister’s comments follow a rebound in oil last week on speculation
that informal OPEC talks in September may result in measures to prop up
prices. While several members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries have called for a brake on production, an earlier round of
discussions collapsed when Saudi Arabia refused to sign a deal without
the participation of rival Iran.
Those
talks, in April, showed that producers can at least work together,
Novak said, according to Asharq Al-Awsat. Russia is open to “joint
measures” since the current cycle of low crude prices is unlikely to end
until late 2017, he said.
OPEC President Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada said
Aug. 8 that the group will hold informal talks in Algiers next month.
Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s de facto leader, subsequently signaled it’s
prepared to discuss taking action.
West
Texas Intermediate crude climbed 6.4 percent last week, its biggest
weekly advance since April, helping to pare declines the past two
months. Futures traded up 0.5 percent at $44.70 a barrel as of 12:16
p.m. London time on Monday.
The
proposed Algiers talks will take place during the ministerial meeting
of the International Energy Forum, which Saudi Arabia and Russia both
plan to attend. Proponents of a freeze may face push-back from several
OPEC members that are pumping below capacity.
Iran hasn’t yet
recovered pre-sanctions production levels, while Nigeria and Libya are
also operating at reduced output, Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS
Group AG, said by e-mail.
Commerzbank AG was also skeptical a
broad agreement will be possible. Russia’s expression of willingness to
engage in talks “is likely to prove little more than lip service, as so
often in the past,” the bank said in a report.
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