OPEC and allies to consider significant oil output cuts as coronavirus hits demand

OPEC and its allies will consider making substantial oil production cuts to lift prices that have been battered by the coronavirus outbreak, Algeria’s oil minister said on Tuesday, as ministers began arriving for talks in Vienna this week.

The group known as OPEC+ is expected to consider deepening its existing cuts by removing a further 1 million bpd, although Russia has so far proved reluctant to back that proposal despite a 20% fall in oil prices since the start of the year.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers already have a deal in place to cut output from Jan. 1 by 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd), a figure that includes additional voluntary cuts by Saudi Arabia.