Venezuela says OPEC, non-OPEC oil stabilizing deal close

By Deisy Buitrago

MARGARITA ISLAND, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Sunday that OPEC and non-OPEC countries were close to reaching a deal to stabilize oil markets and that he aimed for a deal to be announced this month.

OPEC members may call an extraordinary meeting to discuss oil prices if they reach consensus at an informal gathering in Algiers this month, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo said during a visit to Algeria, the country's state news agency, APS, reported on Sunday.

Maduro, an oil price hawk who was speaking at the end of a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement on Margarita Island, Venezuela, where diplomats also met to discuss the oil market, said a deal was imminent.

"We had a long bilateral meeting with Rouhani. We're close to a deal between OPEC producer countries and non-OPEC," Maduro told a news conference.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who attended the summit, said Tehran supported any move to stabilize the global oil market and lift prices, according to the Iranian Oil Ministry news agency, SHANA.

Venezuela has been seeking an oil deal for years as its state-led economy reels under low oil prices, and has often said it was close to reaching an agreement.

OPEC members will meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum, which groups producers and consumers, in Algeria from Sept. 26 to 28. Non-OPEC producer Russia is also attending the forum.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will probably revive talks on freezing oil production levels when it meets non-OPEC nations in Algeria, sources have told Reuters.

(Reporting by Deisy Buitrago; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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