Algeria says OPEC discussing 9-month extension to cuts

VIENNA: Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Boutarfa said on Tuesday that OPEC was discussing a possible nine-month extension to oil output cuts, with curbs kept at the same level as under the group's existing deal.

"Right now we are talking about nine months," Boutarfa told reporters.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets in Vienna on Thursday to consider whether to prolong the deal reached in December in which OPEC and 11 non-members, including Russia, agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day in the first half of 2017.