MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo on Thursday expressed confidence to Sputnik that both OPEC and oil producers outside the cartel should comply with the 2016 output freeze deal.
"I remain confident, very optimistic, that the level of compliance to the declaration of cooperation agreed by the 24 participating countries will be very high," Barkindo said.
He stressed that the November and December deals in which OPEC, followed by other oil producers, agreed to cut production in an effort to stabilize the market defied skeptical pundits and cooperation is likely to continue.
"I think it would be premature at the moment because… the agreement in the first instance is for six months, beginning from January 1, so we are barely two weeks in the very beginning and the roadmap to the implementation is still work in progress," Barkindo said.
The comment comes ahead of the upcoming session of the monitoring committee on the output cut deal between OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers. The committee is due to meet in Vienna on January 21-22.
A number of oil producing countries are considering the option of joining the 24-nation oil producer output cut deal after being encouraged by its results so far, according to Barkindo.
"In reaching this decision, this declaration in December, we left it open to other interested parties who may wish to join. And here in Davos, I have spoken to some of them, who are also considering, who are also impressed with the outcome, who are also encouraged by preliminary impact of the decision and are now considering joining this pact," Barkindo said.
The OPEC chief turned down naming the exact countries in question, but stated he was optimistic for the deal to include more countries in the future.
