13:06 - 6.02.2019

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February 6, Fineko/abc.az. Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf allies advocate the transformation of OPEC and the consolidation of an alliance with Russia and other nine non-cartel oil-producing countries.

Newspaper The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) writes about that, citing sources in OPEC.

The OPEC countries and 10 petroleum exporters led by Russia have been cooperating since 2016 within the framework of OPEC+ deal on limiting oil production. Now the Gulf countries offer to conclude a more formal partnership to strengthen the impact on the world oil market, the newspaper notes.

At the same time, according to sources of the newspaper, Iran and some other OPEC members oppose a closer partnership, fearing the dominance of Saudi Arabia and Russia, which are the largest oil exporters among OPEC+ members. The countries are preparing to discuss the possibility of forming a new alliance in Vienna during the week, starting from 18 February. The oil exporters plan to agree finally on this question in April, when the meeting of the OPEC+ participants is held.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia proposed to create a new organization of petroleum exporters with participation of Russia. However, according to the newspaper, this initiative is no longer being considered.