Energy heads prepare for oil-freeze talks in Istanbul

ISTANBUL (AA) – Energy ministers participating in the World Energy Congress in Istanbul will meet on Wednesday at 2 p.m. local time (1100 GMT) to consult on an oil production-cut decision taken at an informal OPEC meeting in Algiers last month.

Mohammad Barkindo, OPEC secretary general, confirmed the upcoming meeting on Monday.

"Algeria was a landmark decision that will have to be implemented and the implementation process is absolutely necessary," he stated.

OPEC members agreed at the end of September to cut oil production down to a range of 32.5 and 33 million barrels per day effective from November at the informal OPEC Algeria meeting.

"We should engage our non-OPEC colleagues," Barkindo added.

Barkindo said OPEC was grateful to the Istanbul congress for providing an opportunity for this meeting.

"What we expect here is common understanding between ourselves and non-OPEC countries in the implementation of the Algeria accord.

“It has agreed on a range for a ceiling. It has also mandated us to work out the architecture of the implementation of this ceiling together with our non-OPEC colleagues," he noted.

Barkindo said that Russia's President Vladimir Putin had played a constructive role in the process with positive statements along with his Energy Minister Alexander Novak who both shared their support for an oil production freeze.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Moros and Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih have also expressed their support.

"I think there is a convergence of views, which I see. Istanbul is an opportunity for putting up the building blocks going forward," Barkindo said.