OPEC and other oil producers have been summoned over an emergency meeting to quench the current oil war between Russia and Saudi Arabia and to also bring stability in the oil market which have been in turmoil since a deal on supply curbs collapsed.
Saudi Arabia call to Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers for an emergency meeting on Thursday has driven oil prices up as much as 25% and this has added to the growing signs that Riyadh and Moscow may be ready to end their battle for market share and cooperate again. The former began pumping extra crude into an oversupplied market which caused the initial crude price war ending in an all-time low of oil prices.
As at the time of reporting, Saudi Arabia says it wanted a fair oil agreement to stabilise the market, state news agency SPA reported. While earlier on Thursday, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters it had no plans to crank up its crude output.
A senior Gulf source familiar with Saudi thinking had also earlier told reporters that Saudi Arabia supported cooperation between oil producers to stabilise the market. “Saudi Arabia has always welcomed and supported cooperation among oil producers in their efforts to stabilise the oil market during the current crisis, based on the principles of fairness and equity,” the source said.
However, as early as Wednesday 1stof April 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had spoken with Saudi and Russian leaders and believed the two countries would make a deal to support prices, which even after Thursday’s spike are less than half their level at the start of 2020 before the coronavirus crisis took its toll.
