OPEC plans Moscow oil meeting

OPEC plans Moscow oil meeting

LONDON: Oil cartel OPEC will send a high level delegation to Moscow in early March to lobby the world's number two oil exporter to prolong a curb on its exports, an OPEC official said on Monday.

OPEC Secretary-General Ali Rodriguez and OPEC President Rilwanu Lukman plan to meet Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov on Mar. 3-5, he said.

"We are trying to win the support of Russian oil companies for an extension to the cuts beyond the first quarter," the OPEC official said, asking not to be named.

Russia, which ranks second in world oil exports to Saudi Arabia, agreed to restrict crude sales for three months from Jan. 1. It was one of five non-OPEC countries to cooperate with OPEC as it reduced supply for a fourth time in a year to prop up sagging prices. -- Reuters