President Maduro: 2017 will be the year of the OPEC-non OPEC alliance

Caracas.- On Monday, the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro held a meeting with the Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Mohammed Barkindo at Miraflores Palace. Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez and People's Power Minister of Petroleum Nelson Martínez, also participated in the meeting.

They reviewed the positive impact of the historic Vienna agreement on oil market stability and price recovery, looked back at key moments that made possible the agreement, and established a roadmap to consolidate the Monitoring Committee and oversee the strict compliance with this agreement.

President Maduro proposed holding a Summit of Heads of State and Government of producing countries the first quarter of this year. 'This year will be the year of a new OPEC and non OPEC alliance', he said.

He also celebrated the joint efforts of OPEC and non OPEC members, and thanked Barkindo for his commitment to produce a new formula that ensures the stabilization of oil prices for 10 or 20 years.

Efforts towards consolidation

President Maduro said this extended cycle of low prices, the longest in 45 years, has brought losses to privately held as well as state-owned companies, which were forced to lay off workers and cancel investment. 'Low oil prices are no advantage to anyone…We can't leave ourselves open to the return of speculation and the drop of prices. We have to consolidate this, there is no time to lose', he said.

The president also announced that there will be visits to oil producing countries in the coming weeks, and that the first meeting of the Monitoring Committee will be held on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 of January. The committee is composed of Venezuela, Algeria, Kuwait (OPEC countries), as well as Russia and Oman (non OPEC countries).

He believes that OPEC has played a key role in the stability of the oil market and the Vienna agreement represents the foundation of new global energy geopolitics. Domestically, the increase of oil revenues will allow Venezuela to continue strengthening the economic drivers of the Bolivarian Economic Agenda and effective investment with business representatives through the Council on Productive Economy.

Efforts of Maduro key to agreements

OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo commended the role played by President Maduro in the consolidation of Vienna's historic agreement. 'Thanks to the leadership of President Maduro in this process, it was possible to reach 3 key agreements: the Algiers accord of September 28, 2016 which undoubtedly was the turning point that marked the rest of the changes; the Vienna accord of November 30, 2016 which laid the foundations for the implementation of the Algiers accord; and the OPEC and non OPEC agreement of December 10 where we managed that 11 non OPEC countries led by the Russian Federation join in the efforts to fight for the stabilization of the global oil market', he said.

For Barkindo, these 3 landmark agreements helped restore price equilibrium and confidence in OPEC for the first time in a long time. He also recognized the work of the Bolivarian Government which has been able to preserve the welfare of the Venezuelan people despite the price crisis. 'I am convinced that stability to the oil market will be restored on a sustainable basis in the interest of producers, consumers and the global economy', he said.