Russia is still studying OPEC+ tech committee recommendation: Novak

Moscow — Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said Tuesday that Russia is still studying a recommendation by the OPEC+ technical committee last week on a response to the coronavirus.

"Currently Russia is studying closely the technical committee's recommendation with the aim of analyzing the situation and defining an appropriate approach based on the interests of the market overall," he said. "Russia is paying close attention to the impact of the spread of the coronavirus on global energy markets. The situation continues to be seriously unclear."

The recommendation by the Joint Technical Committee of OPEC+ calls for the alliance of OPEC, Russia and nine other countries to cut production by 600,000 b/d through the second quarter -- more than a third greater than the current 1.7 million b/d cut accord already in place, which should be extended through the end of the year.

The alliance, known as OPEC+, is next scheduled to meet March 5-6 in Vienna, but has been awaiting Russia's green light to move the meeting forward to as soon as this week so that the cuts could be implemented without further delay.