15 Apr 2025
Monday 18 April 2016 - 16:55
Story Code : 210094

What led to failure at Doha and how will it affect oil

Oil tumbled to two-month lows on Sunday after the world�s biggest producers failed to agree on freezing oil production. This lack of unanimity threatens to trigger a harsh drop in prices and may lead to the demise of OPEC in its present form.

Oil ministers of�Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Algeria and eleven other nations gathered in�the Qatari capital at�the weekend in�a bid to�stabilize the global market.

However, the attempt, which stretched a good ten hours beyond�its initially scheduled conclusion, failed after�Saudi Arabia and several other Gulf nations refused to�sign a deal unless all OPEC members joined including Iran, which wasn�t present at�the meeting.

�A number of�OPEC countries, namely Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar, who agreed to�a draft accord on�Saturday, changed their position right before�the summit the following�day, leading to �hot� discussions,� Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told RIA Novosti.

Delegates said Saudi Arabia had in�effect torn up�an earlier draft of�the deal after�Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the kingdom wouldn�t restrain its production without�commitments from�other all other major producers including Iran, which has ruled out�freezing for�now.

Earlier in�April, the Saudi Prince also predicted the looming twilight of�the oil age and shared the country�s plans to�transform the oil state into�a country which will not depend on�the black gold.

Tehran had refused to�join the freeze, stressing that the sanctions had been lifted recently and Iran wanted to�rebuild its oil exports to�pre-sanctions levels.

The next oil meeting would be held in�June after�the cartel members agreed concerted position on�the proposed freeze, according to�Nigerian Oil Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu.

Failed talks in�Doha led to�a noticeable drop in�oil prices with�crude losing more than�5 percent on�Monday morning in�Asia.

Brent, the international benchmark, was down�5.2 percent at $40.87 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate, the US marker, shed 5.7 percent to $38.07 a barrel.

Oil prices may go down�to $30 a barrel. If the oil producing nations agreed to�freeze their output � something they pledged to�do back in�February � the prices would go up�to $45 per barrel and could even spike to $50 if Iran joins in.

By Sputnik News
https://theiranproject.com/vdcf1xd0jw6dyxa.r7iw.html
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