Saudi oil minister mum on issue of oil production cuts

DUBAI - The Associated Press

Saudi Arabia’s oil minister says those waiting to see if OPEC will extend production cuts will have to wait until the cartel’s upcoming Vienna meeting.

Khalid al-Falih made the comments on Nov. 28 at a petrochemical conference in Dubai.

He ignored shouted questions from journalists after his speech, waving as he walked off with Emirati Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei.

Al-Mazrouei later told journalists it also was too early to discuss what decision OPEC may make at its Thursday meeting in Vienna.

OPEC and Russia are expected to extend the latest cuts in oil production they announced last year until the end of 2018.

Crude oil prices now sit around $60 a barrel after bottoming out around $30 a barrel in January 2016, hurting the oil-dependent economies of the Gulf and elsewhere.