Mubasher: The oil output cut deal between members of OPEC and some independent producers is a threat to Russia and plays in Favour of the US, head of Rosneft, Igor Sechin, said in a letter to the Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Sechin stressed his refusal to the extension of the deal, informed sources told Reuters.

“There is no guarantee Putin will back Sechin’s view because the president sees the pact with OPEC as part of a much bigger puzzle involving dialogue with OPEC’s leader Saudi Arabia over Syria and other geopolitical issues,” the international news agency said on Friday.

The oil production reduction deal, known as OPEC+, has pushed oil prices to over $60 per barrel. Since its closure, the deal was extended many times.

OPEC members and a group of nonmembers are to meet on 17 April in Vienna to review the deal.

The US crude oil production is expected to grow to over 12 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2018, to reach 13 million bpd in 2019, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).