Saudi-Russian oil cooperation to bring stability to markets, says RDIF chief

The joint agreement between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other oil-producing allies to increase output demonstrates the strength of the Russia-Saudi energy alliance, which will help stabilize the market for many years to come, Reuters reported, citing Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

OPEC and other top crude producers have agreed to raise output by about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from July.

Ahead of OPEC’s Vienna meeting, Saudi Arabia and Russia; the world’s top oil producers, agreed the OPEC format should be “institutionalized” and extended until 2019 and beyond to monitor the market and change output if needed, Dmitriev added.

“A long-term partnership between Russia and Saudi Arabia related to the coordination of efforts between oil producers and the future creation of a new organization based on OPEC will help to overcome disagreements between the producers and work out a united action strategy on the global markets,” Dmitriev noted.

The long-term Russia-Saudi cooperation “will ensure pricing stability on global markets and increase investments in the energy sector,” he explained.

At a meeting with the Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, Dmitriev said that Saudi Arabia agreed to invest $10 billion in Russia, of which $2 billion had already been spent.

Dmitriev expected investments between the two countries to double in the next three years.