Saudi Arabia, Russia and other large oil producers are racing to negotiate a deal to stem the historic price crash as diplomats said some progress was made on Sunday. The talks still face significant obstacles: a meeting of producers from OPEC+ and beyond — delayed once — is only tentatively scheduled for Thursday. Russia and Saudi Arabia want the U.S. to join in, but U.S. President Donald Trump has so far shown little willingness to do so.
Oil diplomats are trying to stitch together a meeting of G-20 energy ministers for Friday, part of an effort to bring the U.S. on board, according to two people familiar with the situation. Even the International Energy Agency, which represents industrialized energy-consuming nations, is calling for action. “We see a huge oversupply in the oil market,” Fatih Birol, the head of the IEA, said in an interview on Sunday. “There’s a need for the G-20 in the driving seat, led by its current chair, Saudi Arabia.”