Russia says oil cuts may be extended amid high compliance

Kuwait City: Russia’s energy minister says there’s “94 per cent” compliance on a six-month oil production cut among Opec members and non-cartel nations, as well as discussions about continuing the cuts to boost crude prices.

Alexander Novak made the comments Sunday in Kuwait at a compliance meeting.

Russia’s TASS news agency quoted Novak as saying discussions on extending the cuts continue.

Opec agreed in late November to cut its production by 1.2 million barrels a day, the first reduction agreed to by the cartel since 2008. Nearly a dozen other countries pledged in December to cut an additional 558,000 barrels a day.

Crude oil sold for over $100 a barrel in the summer of 2014, before bottoming out below $30 a barrel in January 2016. It now trades just under $50 a barrel.