OpeOluwani Akintayo
with agency report
Lagos — Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan has said the Kingdom and Russia have pledged continuos cooperation on the OPEC+ production that aims for a ‘fair’ price for crude oil.
During a press briefing with Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Riyadh, Farhan was quoted to have said OPEC+ was coordinating perfectly to achieve the target, according to S&P Global Platts.
“I would like to assure that we and Russia would like an oil price which is fair to consumers and to producers,” Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said
“This is what OPEC+ looks to achieve and there is good coordination in this initiative and we continue in working to support what benefits the global economy.”
International benchmark, Brent had hit $71 per barrel earlier this week since the coronavirus pandemic hit global economies, forcing down demands.
However, price has since thumbled to $68.32 at 9:30AM Nigerian time on Thursday.
Russia and Saudi Arabia, are the world’s top crude producers. They co-chair the OPEC+ alliance which controls roughly half of global production capacity.
However, the countries do not always see eye to eye. While Russia often pushes for looser production quotas, Saudi Arabia wants a more cautious, disciplined approach to supply management.
The OPEC+ decision on March 4 to roll over most quotas for another month, except for a 125,000 b/d rise granted to Russia and a 20,000 b/d increase allowed for Kazakhstan. Saudi Arabia also said it will maintain its voluntary 1 million b/d cut, as well, to continue tightening the market.
“We share a view that it is necessary to develop our cooperation in the global hydrocarbon market, to closely coordinate our actions, including in the OPEC + format. They are yielding results,” Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said.