Opec raises stakes with Russia, seeks biggest price cut in 12 years

Russia and Kazakhstan, both members of the broader grouping known as OPEC which meets in Vienna on Friday, said they had not yet agreed to a deeper cut, raising the risk of a collapse in cooperation that has propped up crude prices since 2016. OPEC already has a deal in place for 2.1 million bpd of cuts.

VIENNA: OPEC pushed on Thursday for a bigger-than-expected oil output cut to support prices that have been hit by the coronavirus outbreak, effectively presenting its non-OPEC partners with an ultimatum to back the move or face a price collapse.

OPEC's proposal to curb supplies by an extra 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of 2020 was a surprise, given the group was expected to propose cuts of 1 million bpd and, hours earlier on Thursday, had said curbs should be limited to the second quarter.