16/2/2016 Saudi, Russian Oil Ministers Plan Talks in Doha Tuesday ­ Bloomberg Business

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Saudi, Russian Oil Ministers Plan Talksin Doha Tuesday

Ministers al­Naimi, Novak to discuss oil market in private

OPEC member Venezuela will also join the talks Tuesday

Saudi Arabia’s oil minister plans to meet with his Russiancounterpart in Doha on Tuesday to discuss the oil market, accordingto a person familiar with the talks.

Ali al­Naimi, the most senior oil official of the world’s biggest crudeexporter, will speak with Russia’s Alexander Novak in the Qatari

Ali al­Naimi

Photographer: Lisi Niesner/Bloomberg

February 15, 2016 — 7:02 PM CETUpdated on February 16, 2016 — 7:01 AM CET

Wael Mahdi Elena Mazneva

16/2/2016 Saudi, Russian Oil Ministers Plan Talks in Doha Tuesday ­ Bloomberg Business

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QUICKTAKE

Oil Prices

capital, according to the person, who asked not to be identifiedbecause the talks are private. The person didn’t say what the agendaof the meeting will be, which will also be attended by the kingdom’sfellow OPEC member Venezuela. The energy ministries of Russiaand Saudi Arabia declined to comment.

Saudi Arabia has insisted that it won’t reduce production to tackle theglobal oil glut unless major producers outside the Organization ofPetroleum Exporting Countries co­operate. While Novak has said hecould consider output cuts if other producers joined in, Igor Sechin,chief executive officer of the country’s largest oil company RosneftOJSC, said last week he would defend traditional markets andexpressed doubts over coordinated action.

Still, oil’s deepening slide this year to below $30 a barrel has putincreased financial strain on oil­dependent economies and there’sbeen growing speculation that there may be an opportunity to discussa deal between the world’s two largest exporters.

“The back channel talks, whichQatar is brokering, had been inplace for a while,” said AmritaSen, chief oil analyst at EnergyAspects Ltd. in London. “These are still very early days and nothingconcrete has been agreed, but there is a growing sense that countriescould be more flexible, although Riyadh would insist that everyone

16/2/2016 Saudi, Russian Oil Ministers Plan Talks in Doha Tuesday ­ Bloomberg Business

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else contribute to the cut.”

Brent oil in London rose as much as $1.41 to $34.80 a barrel onTuesday and was trading at $34.69 at 9:48 a.m. in Dubai.

OPEC and non­members have intermittently held discussions sinceNovember 2014, when the organization first signaled it was unwillingto cut production alone to support prices. Saudi Arabia, Venezuela,Russia and Mexico assembled in Vienna that month without reachingany deal. A tour of oil capitals from Moscow to Riyadh earlier thismonth by Venezuelan Energy Minister Eulogio Del Pino failed toproduce an accord.

Nonetheless, the slightest signs of an accord have roiled oil markets.West Texas Intermediate futures rallied 12 percent on Feb. 12, thebiggest surge since 2009, after the United Arab Emirates reiteratedOPEC’s long­held position that the group is prepared to engage withnon­members.

Alexander Novak

Photographer: Lisi Niesner/Bloomberg

16/2/2016 Saudi, Russian Oil Ministers Plan Talks in Doha Tuesday ­ Bloomberg Business

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Doha’s closed­door meeting, planned in secret and hosted by Qatar’soil minister, echoes the petro­diplomacy of the late 1999s. ThenOPEC countries used diplomatic back channels with the help ofMexico to orchestrate a series of secret meetings from Miami toAmsterdam, which resulted in several production cuts.

Venezuela’s Information Ministry and the media offices at PDVSAand Venezuela’s Oil Ministry didn’t immediately respond to e­mailsseeking comment.

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• Oil • Saudi Arabia • Alexander Valentinovich Novak • Russia