The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers during the weekend agreed to their first deal since 2001 to cut oil output together and ease a global oversupply.

With the agreement signed at last after over two years of low prices that strained many budgets and impelled unrest in some countries, the market will now shift focus to compliance with the agreement.

“This agreement cements and prepares us for long-term cooperation,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said adding that the deal was historic.

According to Russian Energy Minister, Alexander Novak, the deal “will speed up the oil market stabilization, reduce volatility and attract new investments.”

Two weeks ago, OPEC agreed to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day starting from January 1, 2017, with Saudi Arabia cutting as much as 486,000 bpd. The Saudi Energy Minister during the weekend said that the country may cut even deeper.

On Saturday, Non-OPEC producers also agreed to cut output by 558,000 bpd, rather than the initial target of 600,000 bpd.

Novak said that Russia will cut 300,000 bpd, adding it would be steady and by the end of March Russia would be producing 200,000 bpd below its October 2016 level of 11.247 million bpd and after six month, Russian output would fall to 10.947 million bpd.

Anita Fatunji