Oil Slumps 10% after Russia Objects OPEC’s Agreement to Lower Oil Output by 1.5M Barrel

In the meeting of OPEC and OPEC+, led by Russia, failed to agree on how much oil would the group cut amid low demand globally and the virus outbreak.

OPEC had already agreed on Thursday to lower their production by 1.5 million barrel per day (bpd) in the second quarter of 2020, while maintaining the existing 2.1 million bpd cut until the end of 2020, due to its low demand which caused the oil prices to plunge amid the spread of coronavirus.

However, on Friday, the second and the last day of the meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC allies, Russia was reportedly refuse to cut oil production.

“We have made this decision because no consensus has been found of how all the 24 countries should simultaneously react to the current situation. So as from April 1, we are starting to work without minding the quotas or reductions which were in place earlier but this does not mean that each country would not monitor and analyse market developments,” said Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak to reporters after the meeting.

Brent plunged 9.43% to trade at $41.57/bbl on Friday while WTI remained unchanged at $45.27/bbl.