'OPEC won't extend cuts to offset shale'

'OPEC won't extend cuts to offset shale' (TAz).

Senior Saudi energy officials told top independent US oil firms in a closed-door meeting this week that they should not assume OPEC would extend output curbs to offset rising production from US shale fields, two industry sources told Reuters.

Speaking at an industry conference in the US energy capital of Houston, Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said that there would be no "free rides" for US shale producers benefiting from the upturn.

"One of the advisors said that OPEC would not take the hit for the rise in US shale production," a US executive who was at the meeting told Reuters. "He said we and other shale producers should not automatically assume OPEC will extend the cuts."

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries joined forces with Russia and several other non-OPEC producers last November and pledged to cut production by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) for six months starting Jan. 1.

Iran May Reduce Its Oil Output as Part of an OPEC Deal if Saudis accept Iran's conditions.

Iran May Reduce Its Oil Output as Part of an OPEC Deal if Saudis accept Iran's conditions. (Taz).

OPEC will debate an oil output cut of 4.0-4.5 percent for all of its members except Libya and Nigeria next week.

According to a report covered by Fars, sources said Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf allies have signaled they were prepared to cut close to 1 million bpd of their output.

Under the Algerian proposal, Iran was asked to cut 4.5 percent from almost 4 million bpd, according to sources. But Tehran has signaled it wants to cut from higher levels of 4.1-4.2 million bpd, one of the sources said.

Iraq was asked to cut about 200,000 bpd. Baghdad is also still debating whether it should cut from the levels of OPEC’s estimates or its own, higher, production figures. Read the full story here.