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OPEC, Russia and other allies, a group known as OPEC+, agreed to cut oil output by 10 million barrels per day during a meeting on Thursday. But they said a final agreement was dependent on Mexico signing up to the pact after it balked at the production cuts it was asked to make.
The planned output curbs by OPEC+ amount to 10 million barrels per day (bpd) or 10 percent of global supplies, with another 5 million bpd expected to come from other nations to help deal with the deepest oil crisis in decades.
"I hope (Mexico) comes to see the benefit of this agreement not only for Mexico but for the whole world. This whole agreement is hinging on Mexico agreeing to it," Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told Reuters by telephone.
During the talks, Mexico proposed reducing its oil output by 100,000 barrels per day in the next two months, and would reduce output to 1.681 million bpd from 1.781 million bpd reported in March, Energy Minister Rocio Nahle said in a tweet on Thursday. Mexico was being asked to cut by 400,000 bpd.
Global fuel demand has plunged by around 30 million bpd, or 30 percent of global supplies, as steps to fight the coronavirus have grounded planes, cut vehicle usage and curbed economic activity.
An unprecedented 15 million bpd cut still won't remove enough crude to stop the world's storage facilities quickly filling up.
The United States, whose output has surged to surpass Saudi and Russian production, was invited to Thursday's OPEC+ talks. Brazil, Norway and Canada were also invited.
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday about the coronavirus and energy markets, the White House said.
"President Trump and President Putin discussed the latest efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic and maintain stability in global energy markets.The two leaders also covered critical bilateral and global issues," according to White House spokesman Judd Deere.
Oil prices tumbled on Thursday despite OPEC+ nearing agreement as the lockdowns ordered across the world sucked life out of the global economy, and traders reckoned that even a combined reduction of 15 million bpd would be too little to stabilize the market.
Markets were closed for the Good Friday holiday in major centers. But on Thursday, Brent oil prices, which hit an 18-year low last month, were trading around 32 U.S. dollars a barrel, half their level at the end of 2019.
(CGTN)
