The price of oil has risen sharply after Opec members meeting in Vienna said they were on the verge of agreeing a deal to cut production.

Brent crude was up by more than 7% at $49.80 a barrel on Wednesday following comments from some of the world’s leading oil producers, who have gathered to discuss possible action to rein in the oversupply of oil and halt the fall in prices.

The Saudi energy minister, Khalid al-Falih, said a deal was close and Riyadh was prepared to take “a big hit” on its own production.

What is Opec? The ​Opec is the ​Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) ​. It ​ was founded in ​Iraq ​Baghdad in 1960 by five of the world’s biggest oil producers – Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The cartel now has 14 member ​ countrie ​s and ​in 2015 ​accounted for 43% of global oil production and 73% of the world’s proven oil reserves in 2015. ​Their ​The countries' joint mission is to co ​- ​ordinate policies and ensure stability in oil markets so ​that ​consumers have a regular and economic supply, and producers ​have ​receive a fair return. ​It ​Opec is headquartered in Vienna ​, Austria, ​ and meets at least twice a year. ​or more, if extraordinary sessions are deemed necessary. ​

Falih said Opec was focused on capping production at 32.5m barrels a day, or cutting output by more than 1m barrels a day. He said he hoped Russia and other non-Opec members would also contribute by cutting production by 600,000 barrels a day.

“It will mean that we take a big cut and a big hit from our current production and from our forecast for 2017. So we will not do it unless we make sure that there is consensus and an agreement to meet all of the principles,” he said.

The Iranian oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, said he was optimistic that an agreement would be reached among Opec members and claimed that Russia was also ready to cut production.

“Moscow have agreed to reduce their production and cut after our decision,” Zanganeh said.

A press conference is expected to follow the meeting at 3pm UK time.

The conciliatory tone was in contrast with previous exchanges, when Iran and Iraq disagreed with Saudi Arabia over a way forward, making it hard for the group to achieve a consensus.

Michael Hewson, the chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “It would appear that the long-awaited output deal appears to hinge around whether or not Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia can bridge the gap that has opened up between them, on who caps production and who cuts it, with some talk of a cut of about 1.2m barrels a day being mooted.”



Commodity strategists at RBC Capital Markets said they were sticking to their view that a deal would be agreed.

Opec accounts for one-third of global oil production and in September, members agreed to limit output to between 32.5m and 33m barrels a day, from the current 33.64m, to prop up prices. The ambition for Wednesday’s meeting is to agree individual production targets for each country.

However, concerns remain that reducing output will lead to non-Opec oil producers taking a greater share of the market.