Libya’s GNA Premier to attend OPEC/Non-OPEC meeting Friday

BY Libyan Express Sep 20, 2017 - 10:09

Libya has insisted that it remains exempt from the oil output reduction deal that OPEC today decided to extend by another nine months, to March 2018.

Nigeria’s oil minister and the head of Libya’s state oil company are likely to attend a joint meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC nations on Friday, two OPEC sources said, to discuss the progress of their deal to limit output.

Both countries are exempt from an OPEC-led deal to cut output and their resulting boost to production has weighed on prices <LCOc1>. This has prompted more talk about including Libya and Nigeria in the pact.

Nigerian oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu is “most likely” to attend Friday’s meeting, one of the sources said, while the second source said that Mustafa Sanalla, chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corp, is also expected to join the meeting.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries aims to clear a global oil supply glut by curbing output by about 1.2 million barrels per day, while Russia and other non-OPEC producers are cutting half as much, until next March.

Ministers on a panel monitoring the deal, which comprises Kuwait, Venezuela and Algeria, plus non-OPEC producers Russia and Oman, are scheduled to meet on Friday in Vienna.

Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, who travelled to similar meetings earlier this year, might not attend Friday’s gathering, a source said.

Ministers are discussing several options, including an extension of the pact for at least three months and a further supply cut, OPEC member Iraq said on Tuesday.

The panel meeting on Friday — the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which Kuwait chairs — could make a recommendation on policy to the wider group, which holds its next meeting in November.

(Source: Reuters)

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