It is highly unlikely that OPEC and other oil producers would set up a joint structure due to the additional red tape it would create as well as the risk of U.S. monopoly-related sanctions, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Dec. 27.
OPEC and other top oil producers led by Russia have since the end of 2016 made an unprecedented joint effort to curb output and support prices.
OPEC and Russia jointly produce more than 40% of the world's oil.
Russia's energy ministry had said that Moscow and OPEC lynchpin Saudi Arabia had reached a general agreement that the OPEC+ format should be "institutionalized" and extended until 2019 and beyond to monitor the market and take joint action if needed.
However, Novak said such an idea has been ditched.
"There is a consensus that there will be no such organization. That's because it requires additional bureaucratic brouhaha in relation to financing, cartel, with the U.S. side," Novak told a briefing to reporters.
Source:epmag
