Russia weighs up future of Opec+

New developments may get priority over production cuts

The chances of extending the Opec+ oil supply agreement hang in the balance, not just because of a US decision in late April to end waivers on Iranian oil supply, but also because Russia had already seemed lukewarm, at best, about the idea. The current agreement between Opec member states and key non-Opec producers including Russia — the so-called Opec+ grouping — runs for six months until the end of June 2019. Under the pact, they agreed to reduce their total oil production by 1.2mn bl/d to support oil prices and to consider extending it through the second half of the year if necessary. Opec countries account for two thirds of the cuts, while Russia agreed to reduce production by 228,000bl/