據彭博社4月6日報道，沙特阿拉伯、俄羅斯和其他大型石油生產國正在加緊談判，以求達成一項協議，以阻止這場歷史性的油價暴跌。與此同時，外交官們表示，談判在周日已經取得了一些進展。

不過，談判仍面臨重大障礙:歐佩克及以上產油國的會議(一度被推遲)暫定于周四舉行。俄羅斯和沙特阿拉伯希望美國加入，但美國迄今幾乎沒有表現出任何意愿。據兩位知情人士表示，石油外交人士正在努力組織將于周五召開的20國集團(G20)能源部長會議，這是促使美國加入協議的努力之一。

隨著全球原油需求銳減三分之一，今年以來，原油價格已經下跌了50%，這已經威脅到依賴石油經濟的國家的穩定，威脅到美國頁巖油生產商的生存，并對各國央行構成了額外的挑戰。

國際能源署也在呼吁采取行動，如果不能達成一項有序的減產協議，市場將迫使產油國在石油儲存空間耗盡的情況下削減產量。

國際能源署署長法提赫比羅爾(Fatih Birol)周日接受采訪時表示：“我們看到石油市場供應嚴重過剩，有必要讓20國集團行動起來。”

即使達成1000萬桶/天的減產協議，也幾乎無法緩解供應過剩的問題。據估計，目前的供應過剩產能高達3500萬桶。在一些地區，現貨市場價格已經轉為負值，交易員們以創紀錄的速度把石油裝進油輪，儲存在海上。

由于頁巖革命，美國已成為世界上最大的石油生產國，沙特阿拉伯和俄羅斯都表示希望美國加入減產計劃。

洪偉立 摘譯自 彭博社

原文如下：

Oil Negotiators Race for Global Pact With U.S. Role in Balance

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 G20 energy ministers for Friday, part of an effort to bring the U.S. on board, according to two people familiar with the situation.

Crude prices have fallen 50% this year, as the economic effects of the pandemic have knocked out about a third of global demand. The price crash is so dramatic that it’s threatening the stability of oil-dependent nations, the existence of U.S. shale producers, and poses an extra challenge to central banks.

Even the International Energy Agency, which represents nations that consume oil, is calling for action. Oil officials know that if a deal to cut supply in an orderly way isn’t reached, the market will simply force producers to slash output as storage space runs out.

“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 G20 in the driving seat, led by current its current chair, Saudi Arabia.”

Even if a deal is struck for as much as 10 million barrels per day, that will barely dent the supply glut, which is estimated at as much as 35 million. In some corners of the physical market prices have already turned negative, and traders have been putting oil into tankers at a record pace to store it at sea.

Saudi Arabia and Russia both say they want the U.S., which has become the world’s largest producer thanks to its shale revolution, to join the cuts.