(Bloomberg) -- The OPEC+ group of oil producers is close to agreeing their next meeting should be in Vienna on July 1-2, ending a dispute about when they should sit down to discuss output policy for the second half of the year.
The compromise was proposed in a letter sent by OPEC’s current president, Venezuelan Oil Minister Emmanuel Quevedo, and members are close to agreeing on the new timetable, a delegate said, asking not to be named before a public announcement.
The oil producers group, which pumps more than half the world’s crude, has been bickering for a month about the timing of ministerial talks. Their failure to agree a date just weeks before their production cuts expire gave turbulent markets little reassurance as crude prices extend their slump.
This is the third set of dates to be considered after the original request to shift the date of the meeting from June to July came from Russia, which despite being an outsider has exerted a strong influence over the group since joining forces almost three years ago.
Differences over the timing began as a mere scheduling clash, but escalated rapidly into a diplomatic spat that pitted long-standing regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran against each other. The dispute played out amid a broader geopolitical confrontation as the Saudis -- and the U.S. -- accused Iran of complicity in attacks on two oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz on June 13. Iran, which is under U.S. sanctions, denied culpability.
Quevedo brokered the new dates after intensive consultations with ministers, including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia, and OPEC’s secretary-general, the delegate said. In his letter he expressed his appreciation to all members for their ability to compromise.
The detailed schedule is as follows:
- Joint Technical Committee will meet June 28;
- Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee on morning of July 1
- OPEC countries will hold full meeting on afternoon of July 1
- OPEC+ meeting on July 2
To contact the reporter on this story: Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net
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