(Adds dropped word in paragraph 12)
* Riyadh, others seek new cuts of 1 mln bpd or more
* Full OPEC ministerial meeting in Vienna on Thursday
* Russia hesitating on big new reductions
* Oil rises towards $53/barrel on hopes of cuts
By Rania El Gamal, Alex Lawler and Olesya Astakhova
VIENNA, March 4 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and other OPEC
members were seeking to win support from Russia on Wednesday to
join them in additional oil output cuts in a bid to prop up
prices which have tumbled by a fifth this year because of the
coronavirus outbreak.
Two OPEC sources told Reuters talks were focussing on an
additional cut in excess of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) on
top of existing curbs agreed by OPEC and its allies since
January. Russia has been resisting the extra measure.
"OPEC hopes for a cut bigger than 1 million but the
challenge is still Russia," another OPEC source said.
A panel of several representatives from OPEC states, Russia
and other producers recommended on Tuesday cutting output by
600,000 to 1 million bpd only in the second quarter and said
existing cuts of 2.1 million bpd by the group known as OPEC+
should be extended to the end of 2020.
Russia has indicated that it backed an extension, but the
two OPEC sources said Moscow was reluctant to agree to deeper
cuts even after talks on Wednesday between Saudi Energy Minister
Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Russia's Alexander Novak.
The Saudi and Russian ministers have made no public
statements so far since arriving to Vienna.
The talks in Vienna were following a familiar pattern to
previous meetings. In the past, Moscow had initially been
hesitant before ultimately agreeing to joint cuts with OPEC.
Ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries hold their formal meeting on Thursday, followed by a
meeting of the broader OPEC+ group including Russia on Friday.
Moscow has said it is worried by the rise of shale oil in
the United States, which is not part of OPEC. U.S. producers
have boosted output at the expense of the group.
Wednesday's meeting involved the Joint Ministerial
Monitoring Committee (JMMC), comprising a handful of OPEC and
non-OPEC ministers. The meeting, part of preparations for the
broader ministerial talks, had lasted three hours by 1545 GMT.
'DOWNWARD REVISIONS'
Sources had told Reuters earlier this month that OPEC could
agree deeper cuts even without Russia.
But two OPEC sources said Riyadh did not want to carry most
of the burden of cuts alone and was pressing Moscow to join in
with a proper contribution. Another source had said Moscow was
trying to keep to a minimum any cut that it agreed to.
"Cuts will need to at least be towards the top end of the
range, as we see further downward revisions in demand growth as
Covid-19 spreads. There is more evidence of the spread of the
virus having an impact on demand outside of China," Warren
Patterson from ING said in a note.
Existing cuts have not been enough to counter the impact of
the new coronavirus on China, the world's biggest oil importer,
and on the global economy. Factories have been disrupted, fewer
people are travelling and other business has slowed, driving
down oil demand.
Benchmark Brent oil prices rose more than 1.5% towards $53 a
barrel LCOc1 on Wednesday. That is still too low for many OPEC
states to balance their budgets, although Russian President
Vladimir Putin has said the level was acceptable for Moscow.
Amid global efforts to prevent the virus spreading, OPEC has
said the number of delegates at its meetings in Vienna this week
will be kept to a minimum and urged those attending the meetings
to avoid close contact. Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh arrived for the talks in
Vienna as Iran's government said the virus had now affected most
of the provinces in the Islamic Republic. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
BREAKINGVIEWS-OPEC readies knife for oil demand-slump gunfight
hugs, OPEC officials greet with their feet amid virus
outbreak ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>