Ecuador, Venezuela hail non-OPEC countries' agreement

Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Guillaume Long hailed on Saturday non-OPEC oil-producing countries' decision to reduce their production.

Following a deal by OPEC to cut production by 1.2 million barrels a day in November, this agreement will see non-OPEC states reduce their production by 558,000 barrels.

In a statement hailing the deal, the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry said that it was "the first time so many oil-producing and exporting countries had gathered."

Venezuelan Minister of Oil and Mining Eulogio del Pino said Saturday that this agreement reached by the non-OPEC oil-producing countries would help stablize the oil market.

Caracas has called for a summit in the first quarter of 2017 to build relationships between OPEC and non-OPEC countries, the minister said in an interview with the Caracas-based TV news network Telesur.

On Nov. 30, for the first time in eight years, OPEC members decided to lower their production by 1.2 million barrels a day, or 4.45 percent of their daily total.

The deal will take effect at the start of 2017 for a period of nine months, with a possibility of renewal for a further six months.

Following this agreement, crude oil prices rose by 14 percent to reach over 51 U.S. dollars a barrel.

source: Xinhua