The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has called on shale oil producing companies in the U.S. to join the agreement on reducing production. The OPEC’s Secretary General Muhammad Barkindo made the request in a speech at the CERAWeek conference in New Delhi on September 26, 2017. He has called on producers in the U.S. “to show responsibility” and not to allow for the collapse of the price of oil.

“We urge our friends in the shale basins of North America to take this shared responsibility with all seriousness it deserves, as one of the key lessons learned from the current unique supply-driven cycle,” Secretary General Barkindo said at the conference.

He explained that the need to decrease production comes as a result of the market’s oversaturation. In Mr. Barkindo’s words, the oil supply hasn’t reached a balance in the nine months that the Russia-OPEC agreement has been in effect.

According to OPEC, throughout the duration of the Organization’s agreement with Russia, oil reserves dropped by only 160 million barrels, and the reduction agreement had to be extended until March 2018. Mr. Barkindo added that member-countries may reconsider the agreement’s duration in November. In October, the U.S. has reached a historic record in terms of oil exports, becoming one of the top seven world suppliers.

In November 2016, OPEC member countries together with Russia have agreed to reduce oil production by 1.8 million barrels per day relative to the level reached in October 2016. The agreement’s purpose was to stabilize oil prices. The agreement came into force on January 1, 2017 for a period of six months. In May, the OPEC countries and the countries that are not members of the cartel have extended the agreement for nine months.