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OPEC, Russia oil talks

July 30, 2015

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia have said sharp drops in oil prices are unlikely to continue. At a meeting in Moscow, the two sides noted they expected the market to stabilize in 2016.

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Libya oil field
Image: Abudllah Doma/AFP/Getty Images

OPEC and Russia expressed confidence the global oil market would become more balanced and stable in 2016 after recent sharp drops.

At a meeting between OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah El-Badri and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak in Moscow on Thursday, both sides made clear they didn't expect oil prices to experience any more sharp falls.

While Badri and Novak insisted talks on possible cuts in oil output were not on the agenda, the OPEC representative reiterated the stance communicated at the cartel's meeting earlier this year.

"We met in December, and we met in June; and we decided to keep out production at 30 million barrels a day. And we're not ready to reduce our production," Badri said after the talks in Moscow.

Iran joins the equation

Analysts had recently expressed the view that the return of oil from Iran - following a landmark nuclear energy deal with the country and the gradual lifting of Western sanctions against it - could create fresh tensions within OPEC by worsening the global supply glut and depressing the oil price further.

But while in Russia, Badri put a positive spin on the development, saying that rising oil quantities on the market would be accommodated.

"We're really happy that sanctions are on their way to be over for Iran, and now we don't have any country under sanctions in our organization," Badri told reporters.

hg/sri (AP, AFP)