Going against Iran: Russia and Saudi Arabia push for oil output jump

Opec's de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, and non-member Russia have proposed gradually relaxing production cuts - in place since the start of 2017

Russia and Saudi Arabia are pushing OPEC and its allies to raise oil output steeply from July to meet growing demand and cover supply outages in Venezuela and Libya despite opposition from several members of the producer group including Iran.

“Oil demand usually grows at the steepest pace in the third quarter ... We could face a deficit if we don’t take measures,” Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters. “In our view, this could lead to market overheating.”

Novak said Russia wanted Opec and non-Opec to raise output by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd), effectively wiping out existing production cuts