DUBAI: The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) members have reached a consensus on the need to extend existing oil production cuts for three months from January and will work on convincing their allies in the wider Opec+ group to support such a move, Algeria’s minister said on Monday.

Algerian Energy Minister Abdelmadjid Attar, holder of Opec’s rotating presidency, was speaking shortly before the Opec ministers began talks to discuss a policy that would help producers cope with weak demand in 2021 due to the coronavirus crisis.

“There is consensus at the Opec level ... on extending the current 7.7 million barrels per day (bpd) cuts until ... the end of March,” Attar said, according to Algeria’s state news agency.

The Opec, Russia and others, a group known as Opec+, hold their wider talks on Tuesday, after informal discussions of key ministers on Sunday had failed to reach a consensus.

Opec+ had been due to ease existing production cuts by 2m bpd from January. But, with demand still under pressure, Opec+ has been considering extending existing cuts of 7.7m bpd, about eight per cent of global demand, into the first months of 2021, a position backed by Saudi Arabia, sources said.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2020