Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that the OPEC+ group of oil-producing countries is ready to act to support the oil market at “any moment” as Middle East tensions and other risks may require action.

He made the televised comments following a meeting of an OPEC+ panel which proposed no changes to the group’s oil output plans.

Two OPEC+ sources told Reuters that OPEC+ will decide in March whether or not to extend voluntary oil production cuts in place for the first quarter.

OPEC+ agreed to voluntary output cuts of about 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first quarter led by Saudi Arabia rolling over a 1 million bpd voluntary reduction.

“It is very important that there is constant monitoring of the current situation so that at any moment we can make joint decisions to adjust our joint actions aimed at balancing the market,” Novak said, citing Middle East tensions and attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.

“Obviously, the market situation is greatly influenced today by what is happening in the Middle East,” he added, while also saying that the global market is stable on the whole.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Olesya Astakhova; editing by Toby Chopra and Jason Neely)