OPEC+ Emergency Meeting Scheduled For April 6 Likely to Be Postponed

By Staff, Agencies

The meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries [OPEC] and allied oil producers that was set to take place on Monday may be rescheduled for April 8 or April 9, Reuters reported, citing sources.

At the same time, Russian media reports state that no final decision has been taken yet. The delay may give oil-producing countries more time to negotiate crude supply cuts that are necessary to boost the sinking oil market. According to various statements, the cuts might range between 10 and 15 million barrels per day.

The de facto leader of the oil alliance, Saudi Arabia, called for an emergency meeting on Thursday following a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The US president later said he hopes that Moscow and Riyadh will reach a deal to reduce production by 10 million to 15 million barrels.

On Friday, non-OPEC nation Azerbaijan said that talks on how to stabilize the oil markets will be held via video conference on April 6. It was not made clear which states will join the meeting.

While Trump has been pushing for Moscow and Riyadh to reach an agreement, he has not signaled that Washington itself is ready to contribute to the curbs. Notably, the US previously opposed any cuts, increasing production while the previous OPEC+ deal was in place.

The oil accord expired on April 1, further hurting an oil market which had been already suffering from demand shocks over the coronavirus pandemic. The absence of a new deal, which Russia and Saudi Arabia failed to forge in early March, has only added fuel to the fire.