Saudis offer carrot and stick to get Opec to defend oil prices

Saudi Arabia, the dominant force in Opec, is using both carrot and stick to talk other members of the oil cartel into defending prices at Thursday’s ministerial meeting.

Saudi Oil Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, in Vienna for his first meeting since taking the top job, is willing to raise production slightly if other countries keep failing to meet their existing output target, according to Opec delegates. The potential reward for complying: Riyadh will lead the way in deepening curbs.