Azeri Energy Minister Natig Aliyev met US ambassador to Baku, Robert Cekuta on Friday, and both officials agreed that it was "more expedient" to keep the global oil output cut deal in place only until the end of 2017, not March 2018.

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia and Russia, the world's top two oil producers, agreed on the need to extend output cuts for a further nine months until March 2018 to rein in a global crude glut, pushing up prices.