Relying on Moscow
Russia holds the Opec agreement's success in its hands
Russia's oil producers, under pressure to deliver the cuts energy minister Alexander Novak pledged in December, will stall for as long as possible before they reduce output. Russia committed to reduce output by 300,000 barrels a day over the first half of this year. After meeting the country's oil producers later in December, Novak said cuts of 200,000 b/d would be made by the end of the first quarter, leaving the full target to be reached three months after. The cuts are to be distributed proportionally around Russia's producers, but no specific quotas were set. The market remains sceptical. Most of Russia's producers have, at least, voiced public support for the deal, but haven't been clea
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