Kuwait, Saudi halt oil production from neutral zone

Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are to suspend oil production from the neutral zone they share in June as part of cuts they agreed to shore up prices, a Kuwaiti official said.

The OPEC oil cartel to which they both belong struck a deal with non-OPEC producers led by Russia in April to cut output by a record 9.7 million barrels per day after crude prices plummeted to a two-decade low.

Last week, Saudi Arabia — the world’s biggest oil exporter — pledged to cut an additional one million bpd beyond its agreed quota in June in a bid to reduce excess supply.

The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait followed suit with pledges of additional cuts of 100,000 bpd and 60,000 bpd respectively.