Does it really matter if you’re an official member of OPEC, or just a non-OPEC cooperating country? On the recent comment by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, he told Reuters on Tuesday a joint organisation for cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC countries may be set up once the current deal on oil output curbs expires at the end of this year.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak also also told Reuters that he and his Saudi Arabia counterpart, Khalid al-Falih, discussed long-term cooperation and that the current “mechanism of interaction” has proved to be effective. “We are now thinking about a format for cooperation which could be for the longer-term, which would include the possibility of market monitoring, information exchange and if needed the implementation of some joint actions,” Novak told reporters.
Alexander Novak stated that Russia joining OPEC is not on the agenda for discussions. But OPEC – Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, might just be evolving on the globalization of the industry and now has two types of members – perhaps they refer to them as “founding members” and “new members.”
What I find interesting about the positioning Russia and OPEC are taking, is an Oligopoly approach, with countries like Russia operating in joint best interests, while still claiming independence. In addition, don’t be surprised if one of the non-OPEC countries that joins Russia is China. What would happen if China convinced OPEC and Russia to adopt the Petro/Yuan as the standard.
Published in Featured News, Industry News
