Oman, 14 others to attend Doha oil producers’ meeting

Muscat: Oman and 14 other oil producing countries have officially confirmed to attend a meeting in Doha, the capital of Qatar on April 17, for negotiations on a deal to freeze crude oil output at January levels in a bid to stabilise crude prices.
Qatar has invited all Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) members and other major producers from outside the exporting group to attend the meeting. This follows an initial deal in February between Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Venezuela and non-Opec member Russia.
“The need has become an urgent matter to bring back balance to the market and recovery to the global economy," Qatar’s ministry said in the invitation letter. So far, 15 oil-producing countries have officially confirmed that they will attend the meeting in Doha.
Oman earlier said that the country is willing to cut production by 5 to 10 per cent, if other major producers agree for an output reduction. The Sultanate, if needed, can manage a reduction in crude oil production by cutting the output of majority state-owned Petroleum Development Oman (PDO).
Apart from Oman, the countries that have agreed to attend the meeting include Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Russia, and Bahrain. Mexico said it was participating as an observer to share information.
While producers including Saudi Arabia, Opec’s biggest member, and Russia are due to meet in Doha, Iran is determined to regain market share lost over the past few years due to sanctions over its nuclear program. To pry away customers relishing oil that is cheaper than mid-2014 levels by more than 50 percent, the Persian state is expected to focus on pricing and boosting supply. – With inputs from agencies