Alexander Novak, Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, co-chaired the 9th meeting of the OPEC/Non-OPEC Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee.

The participants reviewed the situation on the oil market and discussed possible further steps under the agreement. The discussion touched upon the issue of allowed production growth, as well as proposed regulating principles for OPEC/non-OPEC countries cooperation after 2018.

The Head of the Ministry of Energy outlined the main indicators of the Vienna Agreement implementation success. According to the Minister, the Agreement execution by OPEC and non-OPEC countries reached 147% in May. Since early 2017, OPEC+ members have managed to reduce the surplus of oil reserves by 380 million barrels. “The market sees the success of our joint efforts to reduce the volume of stocks and reacts positively,” emphasized the Minister.

According to Alexander Novak, today we see the signs of a steady market balance, but it is very important not to allow ‘overheating’ of potential petroleum shortage. “The declaration we adopted in 2016 implies flexibility and aims to stabilize the market. This means possible actions both in case of surplus and deficit,” the Head of the Energy Ministry noted.

Following the meeting of the extended monitoring committee, most of its participants received recommendations to consider at an upcoming ministerial meeting of OPEC and the subsequent ministerial meeting with the participation of non-OPEC petroleum-exporting countries an increase of production of 1 million barrels per day (from the current level), distributing this amount among the parties to the agreement.

Experts will talk about the past, present, and future of Russian energy and discuss the development of the fuel and energy industry.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary Peter Szijjarto announced that he would be visiting Moscow on 11–13 October and to discuss issues related to energy with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak.