"There is consensus building but it's not done yet," he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in the United Arab Emirates. Asked about non-OPEC producer Russia, Falih replied: "We are talking to all countries. We have not reached an agreement for sure, but the consensus is building."

The crude oil contract for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 53¢ on Apr. 17 to close at $52.65/bbl. The June contract lost 49¢ to $53.11/bbl. The natural gas price for May declined 6.4¢ to a rounded $3.16/MMbtu. The Henry Hub cash gas price closed Apr. 17 at $3.06/MMbtu, up 8¢. The Brent crude contract for June on London’s ICE also declined 53¢, settling at $55.36/bbl. The July contract was down 49¢ to $55.88/bbl. The gas oil contract for May lost 25¢ at $497.75/tonne. The average price for OPEC’s basket of benchmark crudes on Apr. 17 was $52.94/bbl, down 43¢.

OPEC and several other producers including Russia agreed in December to pump less oil in an orchestrated effort to end an oversupply weighing on prices. Compliance with the cuts was more robust in March compared to the previous month, Barkindo said. Brent crude has gained about 19 percent since OPEC decided to pare output, and the benchmark grade was 24 cents higher at $55.13 a barrel at 11:59 a.m. in London.

Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh says he believes most members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would endorse extension of the organization's output cut initiative in the upcoming OPEC meeting, adding Iran would also support the cut extension if other members unanimously back it.

The Secretary General reiterated the commendable key role of Iraq, in particular HE Jabbar Al-Luiebi, that was instrumental within OPEC to achieve market stability for both producers and consumers and said Iraq has resumed its leading role in the Organization.

«Россия сократила производство на 185 тыс. баррелей в день по сравнению с целевым показателем в 300 тыс.», - заявил Александр Новак. Глава Минэнерго подтвердил, что Россия изначально придерживалась плана по постепенному снижению добычи, и в настоящее время сокращает производство опережающими темпами.

Первое, что я хочу сказать: у нас такая возможность предусмотрена самим соглашением. Есть отдельный пункт, в котором говорится, что оно может быть продлено на срок до 6 месяцев. Второе: сегодня ещё конец марта. Мы ещё не перешагнули экватор. Обмен мнениями, который состоялся среди министров, и предложение, которое прозвучало, — означают возможность всем странам изучить этот вопрос до следующей министерской встречи; дать поручения секретариату ОПЕК с тем, чтобы секретариат провёл дополнительный анализ ситуации на рынке, которая будет складываться с января по апрель; дать прогнозы исполнения в мае, в июне и на второе полугодие.

"This reaffirms the commitment of OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries to continue to cooperate," the statement said.

The Joint OPEC/Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) convened in Kuwait City for its second meeting on 26 March 2017. It announced that, based on the Report of the Joint OPEC/Non-OPEC Technical Committee (JTC) for the month of February 2017, OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries have continued their progress towards full conformity with their voluntary adjustments in production.

The state-owned company, known as Sinopec Corp, saw fourth quarter net profit jump to 17.25 billion yuan from 9.9 billion yuan in the third quarter, it said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.