OPEC, Russia to meet in Istanbul to keep oil production down

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), including energy ministers from Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq, will be meeting with Russian officials in Istanbul next week.

They will have informal discussions on oil output during the World Energy Congress which is being hosted by Turkey on October 8-13.

In Algeria, key OPEC producers agreed last week on an oil deal to limit crude production. Oil has gained more than $6 a barrel since OPEC announced the decision following informal talks in Algiers on September 28. OPEC wants to keep the current trend untouched as agreed by its members and persuade non-members like Russia to support the deal.

"We will evaluate the market in Vienna by the end of November and if 700,000 barrels are not enough, we will go up. Now that OPEC is unified and speaks in one voice everything is much easier and if we need to cut by 1 percent, we will cut by 1 percent," OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Bouterfa told local Ennahar TV.

The agreement reached in Algiers is expected to be implemented this year. OPEC ministers will meet next in Vienna on November 30 to set the group's supply policy.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that he planned to meet Secretary General of OPEC Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo in Istanbul, Russian RIA news agency reported. Novak said he planned to discuss OPEC's output deal with ministers of other oil-producing countries.

OPEC is particularly looking to secure the cooperation of non-OPEC members such as Russia to help increase oil prices.

On top of OPEC's pledged output cuts, prices were supported by the surprise drop in US crude stocks for a fifth week in a row. It brought the total drawdown since the beginning of September to 26 million barrels, according to official data on Wednesday.

Other energy ministers who will be present in the Turkish city include those of the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Venezuela and Qatar, which holds the OPEC presidency.

No decision is expected to be taken in Istanbul, the sources said. But the meeting will be a chance for the officials to discuss the next step ahead of the Vienna meeting to implement the Algiers deal properly.