OPEC seeks to amend gauge of success for output cuts

OPEC and its allies have held further talks about changing how they assess the impact of production cuts, including recommendations that would affect how quickly they reach their target, Bloomberg reported, citing OPEC delegates.

One option, which OPEC and non-OPEC delegates discussed in Vienna, is to continue measuring commercial oil inventories in developed economies against the five-year average, but without including years of high stockpiles.

Another option is to use a seven-year inventory average to move their goal of reducing inventories to normal levels further from reach, potentially requiring a longer period of cuts to achieve it.

However, no final decision has been made and the ultimate choice rests with ministers, sources said.

OPEC and a group of non-member oil producers have agreed to trim their combined output by 1.8 million barrels per day until the end of 2018, in a deal aimed at reducing inventories and shoring up oil prices.