OPEC seeks to mend internal fences before trying Russia again on coronavirus oil cuts

OPEC will spend Thursday trying to forge a consensus internally on output cuts to offset the coronavirus outbreak's hit to global oil demand, before bringing back Russia, along with nine other non-OPEC allies, for talks tomorrow.

Ministers will gather at the secretariat to discuss an advisory committee's recommendation to deepen the OPEC+ coalition's 1.7 million b/d production cut accord by another 1.5 million b/d through the second quarter.

"The technical recommendation was very clear," UAE energy minister Suhail al-Mazrouei told reporters ahead of the meeting. "We will discuss it, and at the end of the day, we are an organization that takes care of the fundamentals of the market."

He insisted that Russia was on board with the recommendation, despite sources saying Russian energy minister Alexander Novak on Wednesday told Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members that he would only support an extension of the current 1.7 million b/d cut deal, without any further tightening of quotas.

"Russia and all of the members of the committee agreed to the recommendations that the committee is taking to the conference," Mazrouei said. "We did not disagree on what goes to the conference."

But other signs of discord have emerged, which could make for difficult talks. Any OPEC decision must receive unanimous consent.

Mustafa Sanalla, the head of Libya's National Oil Corp., who represents the country at OPEC meetings, told reporters Wednesday that he was opposed to further cuts.

Libya has already lost more than 1 million b/d of production due to a port blockade by opposition forces sponsored by OPEC members Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

'Not logical'

In what likely were politically aimed statements at those two countries, Sanalla said more output cuts were "not logical" and that the 1 million b/d loss was "enough."

At a technical committee meeting last month, Nigeria dug in its heels when asked to support a proposal for deeper cuts, telling other members that it should not have to participate since it does not export crude to China, where the virus outbreak originated and hit hardest.

Angola, at the previous OPEC+ meeting in December, walked out of those talks at one point and were only persuaded to rejoin the negotiations when it was granted an exemption from new cuts.

Due to coronavirus health concerns, OPEC has barred journalists from entering the secretariat for the meeting, and the traditional pre-meeting press briefings with ministers have been canceled.

OPEC has not said whether it will hold a press conference after the meeting.