Azerbaijan considers reasonable to keep oil production at January 2016 level - energy ministry

Azerbaijan's minister of industry and energy Natiq Aliyev plans to attend the upcoming meeting of global oil-producing countries in Doha, the ministry reported Monday.


"The position of Azerbaijan as an oil producer and exporter assumes that a sharp three-four-fold drop of oil prices on the global market not so much due to economic reasons but due to political factors that has turned into a long-term process, does not meet the interests of either producers or consumers," the report said. "Azerbaijan considers it reasonable to keep production at January level," the ministry said.


"Amid the current environment oil production is attractive neither to producers nor to investors," the report said, adding that the country "will participate in making a decision that will meet the interests of all countries in order to balance the oil market."


Azerbaijan produced 10.496 mln tonnes of oil in the first quarter of this year, with daily output totaling 115,000 tonnes.


In mid-February oil ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Venezuela and Russia's energy minister Alexander Novak announced an intention to keep oil production at January levels in 2016 in a move to stabilize energy prices if other crude producers join the initiative.


The majority of global oil producers have confirmed their participation in the meeting in Doha scheduled for April 17.


Novak said earlier a resolution on non-increase of crude output by the countries jointing the agreement compared with the January 2016 level, may be passed at the meeting

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