Saudi Arabia’s powerful oil minister Khalid-al-Falih has raised the hopes of an extension of the current production curb deal; when the OPEC ministers meet at their Vienna headquarter on May 23rd. The current deal, which was agreed in November last year and cuts global production by almost 1.8 million barrels per day will expire in June if not extended.

Speaking at the sidelines of an oil industry event, Mr. Falih said that the consensus to extend the deal is building but no agreement has yet been reached as the consultation continues. His comments come amid reports of dissents within the group who are worried about compliance with the deal and the rising production in the United States. Mr. Falih said that the level of inventories is the indicator of the success of the OPEC deal and the OPEC members would closely watch the levels of inventories in April and in May before taking any decision on the extension. He also added that a preliminary agreement to extend the deal has been reached by the most of the members but not all of them.

In February, inventories declined by 8 million barrels and in March, it declined by 22 million barrels but the level of inventory is still at 3.05 billion barrels, which is a multi-decade high.

WTI is currently trading at $51.2 per barrel and Brent at $2.1 per barrel premium.