* Riyadh pushing for cuts of 1-1.5 mln bpd
* Moscow reluctant so far to cut more output
* Oil price slide hits OPEC members' budgets hard
* Virus outbreak has hammered crude demand outlook
By Shadia Nasralla and Ahmad Ghaddar
VIENNA, March 5 (Reuters) - OPEC ministers gathered in
Vienna on Thursday to discuss cutting output, a day ahead of
crunch talks with Russia which has yet to sign up to their plans
for production curbs that aim to shore up crude prices battered
by the coronavirus outbreak.
Saudi Arabia wants OPEC and its allies, including Russia, to
cut 1 million to 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) for the
second quarter and to keep existing cuts of 2.1 million bpd in
place until the end of 2020.
But Riyadh, the biggest producer in the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries, and other members of the group
have failed so far to win over Russia's backing for the cuts
during preliminary meetings in Vienna ahead of Friday's crunch
talks.
Moscow, which has cooperated on output policy since 2016 in
an informal group known as OPEC+, has indicated it would back an
extension of existing curbs but has resisted deeper cuts,
although in the past negotiations Russia's early reluctance has
given way to a last-minute agreement.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, who met his Saudi
counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on Wednesday, has
returned to Moscow for consultations but will return for
Friday's meeting of the broader OPEC+ group.
The Saudi minister has given little public indication of
progress towards a deal. Asked whether a ministerial panel on
Wednesday had made any recommendation for a deal, he told
reporters: "I want to keep you in suspense."
Novak made no public statements during his brief trip to
Vienna for the preliminary talks on Wednesday.
OPEC sources had said earlier this month that Saudi Arabia
might push through cuts even without Russia on board. But
sources on Wednesday indicated growing frustration with Russia,
saying Riyadh - already cutting far more than its quota demands
- did not want to shoulder an even bigger burden without Moscow.
Oil demand has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.
Original forecast for growth in crude demand in 2020 have now
been slashed with factory operations, travel and other economic
activities around the world curtailed by measures to stop the
virus spreading.
Benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 has tumbled 20% so far this
year to hover around $51 a barrel, a level at which Saudi Arabia
and other OPEC producers will struggle to balance their budgets,
although Russia has said it can cope with that price.