OPEC Proposes a Large Cut in Oil Output

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries proposed Thursday that oil output be curbed by 1.5 million barrels a day, or 1.5 percent of world oil supplies, to deal with the effects of the spreading coronavirus outbreak on demand.

The proposed cuts are more than most analysts expected but seem unlikely to change the gloomy sentiment in the oil market. After the announcement, prices for Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell about 0.8 percent to $50.71 a barrel.

The group proposed that the cuts, which would run through June 30, be shared with non-OPEC allies. Under the arrangement, OPEC, a 14-member group, would make one million barrels of trims, while Russia and other allies would cut 500,000 barrels.

The deal would probably need to be ratified at a meeting of officials from OPEC, Russia and other oil-producing countries like Kazakhstan and Oman that is scheduled for Friday. Uncertainty over an ultimate agreement may explain the market’s negative reaction.

Russia, however, is usually a tough negotiator with OPEC and has been reluctant to agree to new cuts, forcing a showdown at the Vienna meetings. During more than three years of cooperation with OPEC, the Russians have succeeded in pushing Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, to absorb the brunt of production cuts while doing relatively little themselves.

“The Saudis are cutting more and more, and the Russians haven’t cut much at all,” said Bhushan Bahree, senior director at IHS Markit, a research firm, in an interview before the current series of meetings.

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