One OPEC delegate at the meeting in Vienna on May 25, 2017, said that the group of 14 oil producers had agreed to extend cuts in production by 9 months to March 2018. The agreement is expected to be ratified later by Russia and other producers outside OPEC.
The OPEC and other producers, including Russia, had been widely expected to agree to extend a cut in oil supplies of 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of the 1st quarter of 2018.
The cuts are likely to be shared again by a dozen non-members led by top oil producer Russia.
Earlier in May Saudi Arabia and Russia said they backed extending the production cuts until March 2018.
The Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih says that Saudi Arabia is not planning to boost the country's production capacity above 12 million bpd and that Saudi Arabia does not see shale oil derailing OPEC's policies.
Oil prices fell on Thursday as OPEC ministers met to decide how long to extend oil production cuts in an attempt to drain a global glut that has depressed markets for almost 3 years.
The price of Brent crude is down to around $53 a barrel.
Energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said keeping existing oil output at current levels for another 9 months would result in a 950,000 bpd production increase in the United States, thus undermining OPEC's efforts to balance supply and demand.
Michele Della Vigna, co-head of European equities at Goldman Sachs, said deeper cuts might actually be the best strategy.
It would accelerate the market's transition into backwardation, when oil prices for immediate delivery are higher than prices for future crude shipments.
The Saudi oil minister Khalid al-Falih says that Saudi Arabia is not planning to boost the country's production capacity above 12 million bpd and that Saudi Arabia does not see shale oil derailing OPEC's policies.
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