LONDON (Sputnik) — Some oil producers outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries want to go the extra mile and trim output as OPEC prepares to freeze production at an agreed level, the Saudi energy minister said Wednesday.
"Non-Opec is showing willingness to join in Opec's efforts. Willingness to not only freeze but cut output," Khalid Falih was quoted as saying on the Twitter feed of the Oil & Money Conference.
Global oil prices have dropped from some $110 a barrel to values below $50 since mid-2014, prompting the OPEC oil cartel to agree a freeze on oil production last September in order to shore up prices.
Khalid Falih admitted that an extended buildup of oil inventories was still weighing on prices today but the oil market was already "at the end of a considerable downturn."
OPEC is going to finalize the terms of the deal on an oil production freeze at a meeting on November 30 in Vienna, Austria. Russia, the world’s leading oil producer and not a member of OPEC, said earlier it was willing to uphold the agreement.