Saudi Arabia, Russia agree to freeze oil supply

Wednesday, 17 February 2016 08:10

Qatar's Minister of Energy and Industry Mohammed Saleh al-Sada (R),Saudi Arabia's minister of Oil and Mineral Resources Ali al-Naimi (C), Venezuela's minister of petroleum and mining Eulogio Del Pino (L) attend a press conference on February 16, 2016 in t

The oil ministers of three OPEC countries as well as Russia's energy minister have agreed to freeze oil output at January levels. The agreement took place in Doha between Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Venezuela and Russia, and other countries are expected to sign up soon. This could be the first agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC countries in 15 years, but is contingent on other oil producers agreeing to do so. The deal is in response to a growing oversupply of crude and to boost prices from their lowest in over a decade. "The reason we agreed to a potential freeze of production is simple: it is the beginning of a process which we will assess in the next few months and decide if we need other steps to stabilise and improve the market," Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters.

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