* OPEC+ debating cuts of 10 mln bpd - source
* OPEC source says U.S. must join cuts
* IEA says 10 mln bpd cut not enough to balance market
* Trump says makes no concession to Russia, Saudi Arabia
* White House encouraging Saudis, Russians to agree to deal
* U.S. officials suggest output would decline by itself
(Adds comment from Saudi energy minister below first subhead)
By Rania El Gamal, Alex Lawler, Vladimir Soldatkin and Laila
Kearney
DUBAI/LONDON/MOSCOW/NEW YORK, April 3 (Reuters) - OPEC and
its allies are working on a deal for an unprecedented oil
production cut equivalent to around 10% of worldwide supply in
what they expect will be a global effort including the United
States, but the White House did not make such a commitment after
a Friday meeting with oil companies.
While U.S. President Donald Trump pledged help for the
industry at the meeting, he made no commitment to take the
extraordinary step of persuading U.S. companies to cut output.
In a subsequent phone conference, U.S. Energy Secretary Dan
Brouillette told industry executives that the White House is not
negotiating with Saudi Arabia or Russia, but it is encouraging
them to come together to reach an agreement to cut production, a
source who listened to the call said. The oil market has crashed, with prices falling to $34 a
barrel from $65 at the beginning of the year, as a result of the
coronavirus pandemic. Fuel demand has dropped by roughly a
third, or 30 million barrels per day, as billions of people
worldwide restrict their movements.
A global deal to reduce production by as much as 10 million
to 15 million barrels per day would require participation from
nations that do not exert state control over output, including
the United States, now the world's largest producer of crude.
Trump said on Thursday he did not make any concessions to
Saudi Arabia and Russia, such as agreeing to a U.S. domestic
production cut, a move forbidden by U.S. antitrust laws. Some
U.S. officials have suggested U.S. production was set for a
steep decline anyway because of low prices.
A meeting of OPEC and allies such as Russia has been
scheduled for April 6, but details were thin on the exact
distribution of production cuts. No time has yet been set for
the meeting, OPEC sources said.
OPEC producers were waiting to see if the United States
commits to any efforts to stabilize the markets, two OPEC
sources said. They said a deal must include producers from
outside OPEC+, an alliance which includes OPEC members, Russia
and other producers, but excludes oil nations such as the United
States, Canada, Norway and Brazil.
"The U.S. needs to contribute from shale oil," an OPEC
source said. Russia has long expressed frustration that its
joint cuts with OPEC were only lending support to higher-cost
U.S. shale producers.
RUSSIA
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that his
country was ready to cut production along with OPEC and the
United States, while still blaming Saudi Arabia for the market's
collapse. Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman
responded, telling state media that it was not Saudi Arabia that
refused to extend a production-cut deal that would have reined
in output in early March. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told Russian state
media that he understands the United States has legal
restrictions on output cuts, but it should still be flexible.
Brouillette, in his call with the industry, did not mention
the possibility of U.S. industry production cuts, the source who
listened to the call said.
Jason Kenney, the premier of Alberta, Canada's primary
oil-producing province, said on Friday that the province would
join the Monday OPEC call.
The Norwegian oil and energy ministry declined to comment on
Friday on whether Western Europe's largest producer could cut
output to support prices.
The International Energy Agency warned on Friday that a cut
of 10 million barrels per day would not be enough to counter the
huge fall in oil demand. Even with such a cut, inventories would
increase by 15 million barrels per day in the second quarter,
said Fatih Birol, the head of the agency. PRICES RECOVER, FOR NOW
Oil prices recovered from the lows of $20 per barrel this
week with Brent settling at $34.11 per barrel on Friday, but far
below the $66 closing level at the end of 2019.
Prices plunged in early March after Russia and Saudi Arabia
could not come to an agreement to curb output. The Saudis
shocked the oil industry with an aggressive series of steps to
take back market share that included cutting export prices,
pumping at maximum production and trying to sell cheaper oil to
refiners that buy Russian crude. The oil market was dealt a heavy blow by the freefall in
demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, which sent crude prices
to their lowest levels since 2002.
The oil-price crash spurred regulators in the U.S. state of
Texas, the heart of the country's oil production, to consider
regulating output for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Major global producers have already scaled back production,
as fuel demand has dropped precipitously and storage is rapidly
filling. This past week, U.S. drillers idled more rigs in one
week than at any time in the last five years.
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INSIGHT-Oil crash poses severe test for OPEC+ after Moscow,
Riyadh miscalculate Oil price collapse https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-OIL/0100B5LV472/index.html
Coronavirus news https://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/cms/?navid=919104201
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