According to a report by Financial Times, which cited two unnamed officials Saudi Arabia has set the bar high for upcoming negotiations. After it declined to join a non-OPEC meeting with Russia and Kazakhstan saying that a meeting is pointless since OPEC is yet to reach a deal, the report suggests that the de-facto leader of the OPEC has offered to cut its production by 4.5 percent from its current level of 10.5 million barrels per day. It also demanded that Iran’s production to be frozen at the current level of 3.8 million barrels per day. In addition to that, it demands that OPEC members must accept the use of third party figures published by the OPEC secretariat. Recently there have been disputes with regard to the production levels between countries like Iran, Iraq, Nigeria and the secretariat. It has also demanded participation by countries outside the OPEC such as Russia.

This position by the Saudis means that countries other than Iran, Libya, and Nigeria would have to shoulder cuts of more than half a million barrels per day. This is a very tough negotiating stance adopted by the country and if they stand by it, the likelihood of a deal is minimal.

WTI si currently trading at $46.1 per barrel and the Brent at $1.2 per barrel premium.