Brazil to Join Russia, Kazakhstan in OPEC Talks

EghtesadOnline: Brazil, the fastest-growing oil producer outside OPEC, will join talks with the exporters group in Vienna on Saturday about potential cooperation.

News ID: ۷۷۰۷۵۳

29 October 2016

Oil and Gas Secretary Marcio Felix was set to leave Friday for the Austrian capital, Brazil’s Energy Minister Fernando Bezerra Coelho Filho said on Thursday, Bloomberg reported.

Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have already confirmed their participation in the meeting, where the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will seek the backing of non-members for production cuts to support oil prices.

Brazil’s participation “is an unquestionably positive development for getting an agreement that stabilizes market sentiment,” Helima Croft, chief commodities strategist at RBC Capital Markets, said.

“Right now there is still so much skepticism about the prospects for any agreement. I remain very optimistic because of the increasing signs of economic strains in Saudi and other key producers.”

OPEC’s surprise agreement in Algiers last month to make the first supply cuts in eight years will only make a serious dent in a record oil surplus if producers outside the group join in.

Brazil, which is developing huge offshore oil discoveries, will boost output by 290,000 barrels a day next year to 2.9 million a day, the biggest increase of any non-OPEC nation, according to the International Energy Agency.

The country did not join other major producers in a failed push earlier this year to support prices by freezing output.

OPEC agreed on Sept. 28 to reduce output to a range of 32.5 million to 33 million barrels a day.  The accord helped push oil prices to a 15-month high above $50 a barrel earlier this month, according to Financial Tribune.

A committee of OPEC experts was to meet in Vienna on Friday to discuss how much each member should cut. The following day, non-members will hold talks with officials from the organization about potential cooperation. The group needs to finalize details of output cuts by its next meeting on Nov. 30.