The architect of the output-cut plan, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo, has said inventories are the primary target–not the U.S. shale producers who are often described as the cartel’s chief adversary. OPEC has begun pushing countries to disclose more information. Source: Global Finance
The initial public offering is expected to be the world’s largest stock sale, and is a key component of the Saudi government’s economic reform program which aims to diversify the desert kingdom away from its reliance on oil exports. A private placement of shares in the state oil company to a Chinese investor is being evaluated as a precursor to the international IPO, according to two sources who spoke on condition of anonymity as the information was not public. Source Reuters
China’s imports from North Korea fell 37.9 percent in September from a year earlier, marking the seventh consecutive month of decline, the customs office said Friday. Source: Voice of America
Turkey and Iraq will hold talks over the weekend at the prime ministerial-level in Baghdad in order to coordinate measures to be taken against the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) independence bid, including oil and economic trade sanctions. Source: Hurriyet Daily News
