Russian oil companies have agreed not to increase oil production this year following the preliminary deal reached by Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela last month, President Vladimir Putin told a meeting with the country's top oil firms. Putin met the heads of the country's top producers, including Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin, Lukoil CEO and co-owner Vagit Alekperov and others, to hear their views on last month's proposed output freeze, Reuters reported. "As [Energy] minister [Alexander Novak] has reported, you all agree with this proposal," Putin said, CNBC reported. "The purpose of our meeting is for me to personally hear this from you." Novak said Russian companies "have confirmed that they support this initiative and in general, this should give quite a positive signal to the market". Last month, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela agreed to freeze oil production at January levels, which was near recent record highs for Russia and Saudi Arabia.
