21.01.201820:11:00UTC+00Global Producers Ready Cooperate on Output Beyond 2018- Saudi Arabia

Oil producers around the world have the same mindset that they should continue working together on production after their agreement on supply cuts is completed at the end of this year, according to Saudi Arabia's energy minister Khalid al-Falih stated on Sunday.

This marks the first time Saudi arabia publicly remarked that OPEC and non-OPEC producers would continue to cooperate after 2018.

The exact workings of the cooperation for next year has not been decided, Falih stated, however, if oil stockpiles rise in 2018 as some in the market project, producers might have to be open to the possibility of extending the supply cut agreement into next year. He said that producers are ready to continue cooperation beyond this year, given the existing consensus among participants of the deal to continue.

Falih stated that an agreement on production levels in the wake of 2018 would be focused on assuring market participants and the global community that the deal would be something permanent and would be a group effort.

The statement comes after a summit of the joint ministerial committee which supervises the implementation of the agreed cuts. The committee is joined by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Venezuela and Algeria, along with non-OPEC producers Russia and Oman. The UAE was also present during the meeting as it is currently the president of OPEC.