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RIYADH, July 15-- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC countries decided in a meeting on Wednesday to move to the second phase of their agreement to cut oil output by easing restrictions on production. Entering the second phase, the cuts will be reduced from 9.6 million barrels per day (bpd) to 7.7 million bpd starting August until the end of the year, according to an OPEC statement released after the online meeting. The meeting, co-chaired by Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud and his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak, highlighted full commitment of all parties to follow the oil cuts deal. The meeting also required the countries that overproduced in previous months to submit their compensation plans to the OPEC Secretariat by the end of July. The compensation plans mean that the effective oil cuts will exceed 7.7 million bpd. OPEC and its allies, an oil group known as OPEC+ led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, agreed in April to slash output by 9.7 million bpd for May and June as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged demand, and decided in June to extend the first phase of oil output cuts until the end of July. | 
