Comments from Saudi Energy Minister al-Falih and Russian energy minister Novak
Falih:
- Not expecting agreement in Wednesday's talks
- Main debate is output levels for Iran, Libya, Nigeria
- Iran, Libya and Nigeria should be allowed to produce at maximum levels seen in recent history
- Once we agree on Nigeria, Libya and Iran there will be a freeze
- Agreement could be reached later this year
- Saudi Arabia can withstand the current trend in oil
- Saudi Arabia investing in spare capacity so it can survive under these conditions
Novak:
- Russia to meet again with Saudis in Oct
- We can confirm that we can make our contribution to a quick rebalancing in the market
- Russian oil supply will remain flat
Oil initially lower on the headlines but it remains off the earlier lows.
