DAMMAM, Saudi Arabia - United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazroui said that it was premature to talk about an exit strategy from the current global supply cut agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC producers.

"It is... too early to speculate about the agreement's exit strategies at this time; this will be a collective discussion between OPEC and its non-OPEC partners at the appropriate time in the future," Mazroui said in a statement on Wednesday.

"At present, our absolute focus remains on meeting the terms of the current agreement, which runs to the end of December 2018."

OPEC, Russia and other oil producers participating in the agreement recognise that the pact has helped to stabilise the market by reducing the stock overhang to its current levels, he said.

"We are committed to continuing this process and to delivering a more stable and balanced market," he added.

The UAE holds the presidency of the 14-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2018. (Reporting by Rania El Gamal and Aziz El Yaakoubi, editing by Louise Heavens) 

Reuters News 2017