Russia to OPEC: Oil Freeze Is All You Get
- Freeze means 2017 Russian output would be less than planned
- OPEC asked non-members to cut 500,000 barrels a day: Novak
Iraq to Join OPEC Supply Deal
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Facing pressure from OPEC to make a significant output reduction, Russia reiterated its readiness to freeze oil production at current levels, arguing that the offer amounted to a cut compared with next year’s plans.
A production cap would mean Russia pumping 200,000 to 300,000 barrels a day less than planned in 2017, Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters in Moscow on Thursday. That means a freeze would be “quite a difficult and harsh situation for us as our plans envisioned an output growth next year,” he said.