/ world today news/ The oil ministers of Russia and Saudi Arabia, Alexander Novak and Ali Naimi, will discuss an agreement on cooperation between the two countries, Reuters reports. The agreement will not concern general oil production or export strategy, an agency source said.
Saudi Arabia is the largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, and the world’s largest exporter. Russia is the second largest supplier in the world market.
Russia has been trying to strengthen its relationship with OPEC after the price of oil fell sharply last year, but has resisted cutting production in order to boost prices. The oil cartel also has no plans to cut production, as the Gulf states prefer to sacrifice some of their revenue for the sake of maintaining their market share.
A spokesman for the Russian Energy Ministry confirmed the upcoming meeting, but declined to comment on what would be discussed at it.
The talks at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum come after OPEC met on June 5, when the cartel failed to make changes to its output ceiling. Before the meeting, a delegate of one of the countries in the organization said that OPEC will not cut production unless the countries outside it agree to the same terms.
Saudi Arabia has been setting record oil output in recent months as part of a strategy to retain market share, while Russian production hit a post-Soviet record high of 10.7 million barrels per day in April.
Despite the significant supply, the price of benchmark Brent rose to almost $65 a barrel after reaching $45 in January.
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