Baghdad says the OPEC meeting will be held in Moscow on March 2009.03.2016
The countries belonging to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC countries may meet on March 20 in Moscow, reported the state-owned Iraqi newspaper Al-Sabah, citing deputy minister of oil industry of the country, Fayad Al-Him.
"The meeting in Moscow between the major oil-producing countries and OPEC countries outside the cartel is expected to take place on March 20. There will be discussed the freezing of production levels." – says Al-Sabah quoting the official.
Iraq "is ready to cooperate in the discussion of the plan about production levels freezing with the world's largest oil producers and is ready to ensure that Russia and Saudi Arabia, the largest oil producers and exporters, will sit at the negotiating table," said al-Nema.
Last week the Russian Ministry of Energy reported that the country has not yet agreed on the exact date and place of the meeting, but before April 1 the Ministry hopes to agree on a freezing of world oil production.
In mid-February, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela have tentatively agreed to freeze oil production at the level of January, but the agreements have not yet been legally confirmed.
As of oil prices, these are rising due to lower production in the US, though the growth is limited because of a stronger dollar and the decline of consumption.
Brent futures increased by $ 0.17 to $ 39.82 per barrel, while WTI futures increased by $ 0.20 to $ 36.70.
"US domestic oil production slowly decreases. We continue to believe that we should expect further correction." – said Phillip Futures analysts in a report, adding that under the present conditions the upper limit of the price is the level of $ 40- $ 41 per barrel, reached at the beginning of this week.
Oil in the US, according to government forecasts, in 2017 will drop to 8.19 million barrels per day from more than 9 million today.
US crude stocks last week rose 4.4 million barrels to 521.5 million barrels, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API), the forecast being 3.9 million barrels.