OPEC+ countries on Thursday discussed the creation of a new agreement to reduce oil production with the possible participation of other major oil producing states to stabilize the situation on the market, which came under pressure from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The meeting was held in the form of a video conference, which is to be followed on Friday by a video meeting of the G20 energy ministers. A Sputnik source, familiar with the talks, said that the final OPEC+ decision would depend on the results of subsequent G20 energy ministers' discussions.
Oil prices have been in a downward spiral due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly reduced air traffic worldwide, shut down production and forced many to work from home, driving demand for jet fuel and gasoline down.
Prices dropped even further after the OPEC+ group failed to extend the curtailment agreement and introduce additional cuts in light of the falling demand during a meeting in March in Vienna.
At their meeting in March, dedicated to market support measures, OPEC+ countries were unable to overcome differences on the deal's future.
Back then, a consensus was not reached either on Russia's suggestion to extend the agreement in order to further take a more balanced decision, or on the idea of Saudi Arabia to deepen the reduction in production by 1.5 million barrels per day.
