OPEC won't extend cuts to offset shale – sources

Senior Saudi energy officials told top independent US oil firms in a closed-door meeting this week that they should not assume OPEC would extend output curbs to offset rising production from US shale fields, two industry sources told Reuters.

Speaking at an industry conference in the US energy capital of Houston, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said that there would be no "free rides" for US shale producers benefiting from the upturn.

"One of the advisors said that OPEC would not take the hit for the rise in US shale production," a US executive who was at the meeting told Reuters. "He said we and other shale producers should not automatically assume OPEC will extend the cuts."

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries joined forces with Russia and several other non-OPEC producers last November and pledged to cut production by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) for six months starting Jan. 1.

News.Az

You Might Also Like