Saudi's Al-Falih says many nations willing to join OPEC in crude output cuts

Saudi Arabia's Energy and Industry Minister, Khalid Al-Falih, said many nations are willing to to join OPEC in cutting crude output to achieve an ongoing improvement in prices, according to reports.

Speaking at the Oil and Money conference in London on Wednesday, Al-Falih said talks would continue until OPEC's meeting on 30 November in Vienna. He did not name any countries, Bloomberg reported.

To date, just Russia has said it was mulling an output freeze or a reduction.

However, non-OPEC producers that have previously co-operated with supply curbs, such as Mexico and Norway, have said they would not cut production, the news agency reported.

Al-Falih went on to say that the oil market was in a period of re-balancing, and this was bringing an end to a considerable downturn.

He said US inventories were declining; supply and demand were coming back into line.

The price of crude has wavered at about $50 a barrel as uncertainties linger as to whether OPEC would be able to implement an accord to reduce supply when its members next meet.

At about 10:42 BST, West Texas Intermediate crude was trading up 1.51% to $51.05 a barrel, with Brent crude up 1.51% to $52.46 a barrel.

At the conference on Tuesday, BP chief executive Bob Dudley said he anticipates crude will trade in the range $50-$60 a barrel next year. He added that BP would break-even at prices slightly below $55 a barrel.

"Last year we said we needed to balance at $60 and we had a job to get it there ... Next year we will be able to balance south of $55," Dudley said, adding the oil industry was undergoing a profound change, which was for the better.

"At $100 oil, industry costs drifted up and all kinds of projects looked attractive," he said.

"At today’s prices, we have to maximise efficiency and minimise costs. We have to focus on the highest quality projects and develop them with great capital discipline."