Russia, Saudi ‘Very Close’ to Deal Despite Earlier Reports of Delaying Meeting on Oil Output Cuts

By Staff, Agencies

Saudi Arabia and Russia are "very, very close" to a deal on oil production cuts, CNBC cited Head of Russia's Sovereign Wealth Fund, Kirill Dmitriev, as saying on Monday.

The two countries were initially set to meet Monday to discuss output cuts, but that has now been pushed back to April 9, as oil prices continue to come under pressure.

"I think the whole market understands that this deal is important and it will bring lots of stability, so much important stability to the market, and we are very close," Dmitriev, also one of Moscow's top negotiators, told CNBC.

Dmitriev was first to make a public declaration of the need for an enlarged supply pact, potentially involving producers outside the OPEC+ group that currently consists of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries [OPEC] and some other oil producers led by Moscow.

A previous three-year deal to stabilize oil prices collapsed a month ago, with Saudi Arabia and Russia trading blames for failure to find a compromise at an OPEC+ meeting in Vienna on March 6.

Meanwhile, the G20 energy ministers and members of some other international organizations will hold a video conference to be hosted by Saudi Arabia on April 10, a senior Russian source told Reuters Monday, as part of the efforts to get the United States involved in a new deal on production cuts.