Crude oil rose 6 percent after Russia, the second-biggest exporter following Saudi Arabia, said it would support an OPEC decision to lower production.
Russia's prime minister said companies may reduce exports to help lift prices that reached a two-year low on Tuesday. OPEC next week will consider slashing production for the fourth time this year, which Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said might send output to the lowest level since the Persian Gulf War a decade ago.
"The Russians have been a big problem because they have been increasing production," said James Fiedler, a senior oil broker with Man Financial Inc. in New York. "The rally started when the Saudis said that a cut of over 1 million barrels a day was probable. The Russian news is prolonging it."
Crude oil for December delivery rose as much as US$1.24, or 5.9 percent, to US$22.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest one-day gain since Sept. 14. Prices rose 11 percent this week, the biggest increase since October 2000, when prices were rising toward a 10-year high of about US$36 a barrel the following month.
In London, Brent crude oil for December delivery rose as much as US$1.32, or 6.5 percent, to US$21.60 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said six or seven of the nation's biggest oil companies may decide early next week to reduce exports, according to spokeswoman Tatyana Razbash.
The statement marks a turnaround for Moscow, which earlier had refused to cooperate. The energy minister last month said daily oil exports in the fourth quarter will drop by 1 million tons, or 80,000 barrels, though only because of rising domestic demand during winter.
Russia's two biggest oil producers, OAO Lukoil and AO Yukos Oil Co, declined to comment. Of Russia's six biggest oil companies, one is closely held and five are publicly traded. The government doesn't have controlling stakes in any of the companies, though it owns the state's pipeline monopoly.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has made agreements with Russia before. In April 1999, non-OPEC producers Mexico, Norway, Russia and Oman agreed to reduce world oil output for one year, by a total of about 7 percent. That year, Russian oil exports actually increased by 400,000 barrels a day, the International Energy Agency reported.
"It's hard to see how the government can get the oil companies to cut exports unless they have something to offer them," said Lisa Rothenberg, a Russian energy analyst at Energy Security Analysis Inc, a consulting firm in Wakefield, Massachusetts. "The Russian oil industry is privatized, not state controlled like in the OPEC countries."
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from