G20 announces emergency energy ministers meeting Friday on oil cuts, coronavirus

London — The G20 group of leading world economies will host an extraordinary energy ministers' meeting Friday to discuss OPEC-led plans for a global crude production cut accord aimed at shoring up an oil market crushed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The meeting, to be held via webinar, will "foster global dialog and cooperation to ensure stable energy markets and enable a stronger global economy," the G20 said in a statement Tuesday.

OPEC, Russia and nine other allies plan a summit the day before to hammer out production cuts that could take as much as 10%-15% of crude supply off the market, though delegates have said commitments for a deal have yet to be clinched.

The alliance, known as OPEC+, is also hoping to convince other key oil producers, including the US, Canada, Brazil and Norway, to participate in the deal.

Saudi Arabia, OPEC's largest producer and de facto leader, holds the G20's rotating presidency for this year.

The International Energy Agency, which largely represents oil consuming nations, has been pushing for the G20 to be a venue for expanded oil talks as the negotiations picked up steam this week.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol has said the continued crash in oil prices could spark an economic calamity if unchecked.

"We need solidarity at this time to urgently bring stability to the world economy and to support millions of jobs," he said in a tweet Tuesday.