Saudi, Russian oil ministers said to plan talks in Doha Tuesday

DOHA, Qatar (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia’s oil minister will meet with his Russian counterpart in Doha on Tuesday to discuss the oil market, according to a person familiar with the talks.

 

Ali al-Naimi, the most senior oil official of the world’s biggest crude exporter, will speak with Russia’s Alexander Novak in the Qatari capital, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The person didn’t say what the agenda of the meeting will be, which will also be attended by the kingdom’s fellow OPEC member Venezuela. The energy ministries of Russia and Saudi Arabia declined to comment.

 

Saudi Arabia has insisted that it won’t reduce production to tackle the global oil glut unless major producers outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries co-operate. While Novak has said he could consider output cuts if other producers joined in, Igor Sechin, CEO of the country’s largest oil company Rosneft OJSC, said last week he would defend traditional markets and expressed doubts over coordinated action.

 

Oil prices slumped to 12-year lows near $26/bbl in New York last week as resilient U.S. shale production and the return of Iranian exports after sanctions threatens to prolong a global surplus.

 

OPEC and non-members have intermittently held discussions since November 2014, when the organization first signaled it was unwilling to cut production alone to support prices. Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Russia and Mexico assembled in Vienna that month without reaching any deal. A tour of oil capitals from Moscow to Riyadh earlier this month by Venezuelan Energy Minister Eulogio Del Pino failed to produce an accord.

 

Nonetheless, as the financial pain of oil at $30/bbl mounts up for all producers, the slightest signs of an accord have roiled oil markets. West Texas Intermediate futures rallied 12% on Feb. 12, the biggest surge since 2009, after the United Arab Emirates reiterated OPEC’s long-held position that the group is prepared to engage with non-members.