Saudi Arabia has invited Russia to become an observer member of OPEC, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said Saturday. The move would add the world’s largest oil producer as a non-voting member, formalizing a relationship that began when Russia and other smaller allies joined OPEC in a production cut deal finalized in 2016. S&P Global Platts news feature: OPEC Influencers interactive chart “There is such an option, [and] we are studying it closely now,” Novak told reporters in Vienna after the OPEC/non-OPEC coalition finalized a 1 million b/d production increase. OPEC officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Russia and Saudi Arabia have warmed ties in recent years out of a mutual desire to increase oil prices that underpin their economies. The OPEC /non-OPEC coalition now controls almost half of global crude production, and OPEC officials have said they plan to present a proposal by the end […]