Saudi Arabia, Russia discussed oil market condition and ‎cooperation within OPEC+‎

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia and Russia discussed the situation in the oil market and crude prices in light of the escalating conflict between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

According to Reuters, crude oil prices witnessed a significant rise after a sudden and widespread attack launched by Hamas from the Gaza Strip on Israel on October 7.

Novak met with Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy, in Moscow on Wednesday, before the “Russian Energy Week” conference in the capital, Moscow, which will witness a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Novak said that he discussed with Prince Abdulaziz the oil market conditions and cooperation within the framework of OPEC+

Interfax news agency quoted Novak as saying, “Of course, we discussed (cooperation within the framework of OPEC) during our internal meeting, and it is one of the most important topics we discussed today.”

He continued, saying, “We are in constant communication and we took advantage of this opportunity in our meeting to discuss the market situation.”

It is not yet clear whether the discussions have reached any tangible results. Novak said earlier that they would discuss crude prices

The Kingdom coordinated with Russia to reduce supplies in the past few years to support oil prices

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that it is difficult to underestimate the importance of coordination between Russia, Saudi Arabia and other partners on global oil markets amid the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.

He added to reporters in a conference call that the visit of Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman to Moscow provided a great opportunity to discuss current events.

He said, “Of course, global oil markets are highly affected by the events unfolding in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and of course in this case our coordination with the Saudis and the rest of our partners… it is difficult to underestimate its importance.”

Novak said at the beginning of the meeting that Russia is ready to enhance supplies of oil products to Saudi Arabia. Gulf countries that have huge refineries usually re-export Russian fuel

He added that Russia is ready to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in the fields of nuclear energy, geological exploration, and food supplies

Putin is scheduled to address the forum later on Wednesday. It is expected that Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, who is currently on a two-day official visit to Moscow, and representatives from OPEC countries are also expected to attend.

The two sides agreed to continue voluntary reductions in oil production by a total of 1.3 million barrels per day, representing one percent of global demand until the end of the year.

Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that it is making more efforts in communicating with international and regional parties to stop the escalation in Gaza and its surroundings and prevent its expansion in the region, and reaffirmed its support for efforts aimed at stabilizing and balancing oil markets.

Israel produces only a little crude oil, but markets fear that the conflict may escalate, disrupting oil supplies from the Middle East and worsening the already expected supply deficit for the rest of the year.