Saudi Arabia and Russia today confirmed they would each extend their respective additional oil production and supply cuts to the end of this year, as widely flagged.
The Saudi energy ministry said the extension of its 1mn b/d production cut into a fifth month will mean the country's crude output will again be around 9mn b/d in December. Russia's 300,000 b/d reduction to its exports, from May-June levels, will continue to the same time, deputy prime minister Alexander Novak said.
Moscow has added a layer of ambiguity to its commitment by now referring to the export cut as applying to crude and oil products, rather than just to crude as it had previously.
Both countries said their cuts would be reviewed in early December, with all options open.
Novak and Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman had already reiterated their joint desire to maintain these cuts, which have been imposed on top of the countries' respective commitments under the Opec+ agreement. The reductions are also in addition to Saudi Arabia's pledge to cut 500,000 b/d from May output levels as part of a co-ordinated 1.16mn b/d reduction announced by eight Opec+ members in April, and Russia's pledge to reduce production by 500,000 b/d from March. Those reductions are scheduled to run until the end of 2024.
