Riyadh and Moscow are considering extending an alliance on oil curbs to extend controls over world oil supplies by major exporters for many years to come.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman came up with the revelation in interview in New York, reports Reuters.
“We are working to shift from a year-to-year agreement to a 10-20 year agreement,” the crown prince.
"We have agreement on the big picture, but not yet on the detail,” he said.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia are working on the deal to cooperate on oil supply curbs that began in January 2017 after oil prices crashed.
Top OPEC producer Saudi Arabia recruited Russia and other producers to collaborate with the petroleum exporting countries when oil prices collapsed from over $100 a barrel in 2014 to below $30 in 2016.
Crude has recovered to $70 but fast-rising output from US shale producers has capped prices.
Russia, never a member of OPEC, has worked alongside OPEC during previous oil gluts, dating back to 1990, but a 10-20 year deal between the two would be unprecedented.
The crown prince said a flotation of 5 per cent of state Saudi oil company Aramco could take place at the end of 2018 or early 2019, depending on market conditions.
