OPEC members are about to start the much-awaited meeting in Vienna to discuss the production freeze deal that could see OPEC production cut by as much as 1.2 million barrels per day. The scheduled is below,

• OPEC delegates would start the meeting at 10:00 GMT at OPEC secretariat. Initially, it would be an open session.
• At 12:00 GMT, members would move to a closed door session along with the secretary general and chairman of the board of governors. The meeting is expected to last several hours.
• At 16:00 GMT, the President of the OPEC conference and the secretary general are expected to hold a press conference to update the outcome of the meeting.

There are several sticking points, which the members will have to overcome in order to deliver a successful deal. The points are as follows,

• Production cuts: This is the biggest sticking point; who will cut and by how much. The largest producer Saudi Arabia offered to cut production by 4.5 percent from the current level. In October Saudi Arabia produced 10.625 million barrels of oil per day. Iran has demanded that Saudis cut production to 9.5 million barrels per day. OPEC secretariat has called for a cut to 10.07 million barrels.
• Iran: Saudis have demanded that Iran freezes production at current 3.8 million barrels per day. Iran previously said that it wants to reach levels above 4 million barrels per day.
• Policing: Saudi Arabia demanded that the members need to accept third party figures used by the secretariat. Several countries like Iraq, Iran, and Venezuela said that the secretariat under-reported actual figures in its last report.

Oil prices are quite upbeat heading into the meeting. WTI is currently trading at $47.6 per barrel and Brent at $2.3 per barrel premium.