The Opec secretary-general has called on the world’s largest oil producers to help arrest the worst price collapse in decades, as one of Russia’s biggest oil companies said it would not oppose joining the cartel in output cuts.
Abdalla El-Badri said future oil production would falter unless countries both inside and outside Opec co-operated to end a supply glut that has hammered prices 70 per cent lower in 18 months, leading to widescale cuts in investment and jobs in the industry.
“It is crucial that all major producers sit down to come up with a solution to this. The market needs to see inventories come down to levels that allow prices to recover and investments to return,” Mr El Badri said in a speech at London’s Chatham House.