Novak says has not received proposal to raise OPEC+ cut by 1 mil b/d: report

Moscow — Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said Monday he has not received proposals on increasing the OPEC+ crude production cut by 1 million b/d, Prime news agency reported.

"We do not have such proposals," Novak said.

"We are officially guided by what the working committee considered a month ago. There were certain discussions about the market situation. And the technical committee, as you know, made certain recommendations. But this is for the JMMC to consider," he said, according to the report.

Russia has yet to state a detailed position on the OPEC+ agreement going forward. Earlier this month, Russian oil producers indicated they would be willing to extend the current agreement to the end of the second quarter but did not want to cut further.

Some participants in the deal have called for deeper cuts in response to the market impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The current 1.7 million b/d supply cut agreement expires at the end of March.

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said oil prices were acceptable for Russia and backed continued cooperation through the OPEC+ agreement to ensure market stability and combat the negative impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the global economy.

Putin was speaking during a meeting on the impact of coronavirus on the global economy and the oil market with government ministers and representatives of oil and gas companies.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Monday that no concrete decisions were taken at the meeting, according to Prime.

"The aim of this meeting was not to take any concrete decision. You know that on the specific issue of cuts within the framework of OPEC+ there will be contact this week," Peskov said, adding the meeting was about aligning positions and exchanging views.

He did not provide any further details on the discussion or participants' views.

Both Putin and Peskov referenced meetings scheduled to take place in Vienna this week. Some sources have said OPEC was considering calling off the meeting or switching to teleconference as a precaution amid the coronavirus outbreak.