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Gulf oil exporters want higher Russia oil cut
By Ashraf Fouad
KUWAIT, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Non-OPEC Russia must improve on its offer to trim oil output by 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) if it is serious about joining OPEC producers in a global oil supply cut next year, Gulf oil sources said on Sunday.
"50,000 bpd by Russia essentialy means 'thank you, but no' (to cooperating with OPEC)," a senior Gulf source told Reuters.
Independent producer Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter, offered to slice 50,000 bpd from its fourth-quarter output but delayed until next month a crucial decision on whether to join OPEC in a global oil output reduction for 2002.
Moscow's fourth-quarter gesture could be a sign that it may not offer a big enough cut for the first quarter of 2002, analysts said.
OPEC has offered to cut output by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) from January 1, if non-OPEC producers cut supplies by 500,000 bpd, to save oil prices which have sunk by about a third since September 11.
It is conditional upon reductions by major non-OPEC producers, of whom Russia, Mexico and Norway are the largest.
"I do not think this amount is enough. Raising it (Russian cut offer) to 50 from (an earlier) 30,000 bpd does not mean very much," added the Gulf source.
"The magic number was set by OPEC at a 500,000 bpd reduction coming from non-OPEC, with 200,000-300,000 bpd from Russia."
Another senior source in a neighbouring Gulf Arab state told Reuters the latest Russian offer "is still a joke."
"OPEC and the market are looking for real and credible cuts ...especially with regard to Russia...its exports drop by at least 200,000 bpd in the winter anyway," he added.
Some in the Gulf argue that Russia's cut from January 1 should exceed the normal seasonal decline in its exports to meet rising domestic consumption and also due to the freezing of some oil production facilities.
A Gulf source said non-OPEC cuts "should not come from projections for exports for the next six months but from (current) production levels."
OPEC Secretary-General Ali Rodriguez has welcomed commitments by Russia and other non-OPEC exporters to cooperate, but stopped short of saying that they were enough to trigger a global reduction of two million barrels per day.
"We continue a dialogue with the non-OPEC grouping to convince them to share the efforts...These countries should take part in these efforts aiming to stabilise the crude prices, currently under the $20 per barrel line," OPEC President Chakib Khelil said on Saturday.
He said non-OPEC pledges so far were around 300,000 bpd.
Already this year OPEC has sliced supply by 3.5 million bpd. A further 1.5 million reduction would cut output limits for 10 members, excluding sanctions-bound Iraq, to 21.7 million bpd, down 19 percent this year.
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