OPEC chief says oil cooperation with non-members 'vital'

Published : Nov 7, 2016 - 20:50 Updated : Nov 7, 2016 - 20:54

ABU DHABI (AFP) - Coordination between members of oil-exporting cartel OPEC and non-member producers is "vital" to rebalance the market, OPEC chief Mohammad Barkindo said Monday.

Former OPEC Secretary General HE Abdalla Salem El-Badri (right) handing over the executive leadership of the OPEC Secretariat to newly appointed Secretary General HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo. (OPEC homepage)

"We believe it is vital that both OPEC and non-OPEC countries come together and take coordinated... action to rebalance this market for the common good of all," OPEC's secretary general said at a forum in Abu Dhabi.

OPEC pledged after a meeting in Algiers on September 29 to cut production for the first time in eight years on the back of a sustained depression in global prices.

"The agreement underlined the organisation's commitment to sustainability of oil markets," Barkindo said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the forum, Barkindo said major non-OPEC exporter Russia is "on board" with the cartel's agreement to limit production, according to Bloomberg.

"We as OPEC remain committed to the Algiers accord," Barkindo said. "I have heard from the highest quarters in Moscow that Russia is on board."

During the past two years, oil has lost around 60 percent of its value due to a supply glut. Prices currently hover around $45 per barrel.