Bangladesh, Dec. 6 -- producing cartel and ally Russia were attempting Friday to finalize a deal to cut production in an attempt to support the price of fuel and energy around the world.

The group is expected to prolong a cut of 1.2 million barrels per day that they have agreed on for the past three years. They are also discussing an extra cut worth 500,000 barrels a day, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said.

The price of crude has been held down in recent years by a resurgence in supplies from countries outside OPEC, particularly the United States.

The sticking point in the talks appears to be how to share the cuts among the 14 OPEC countries and nations like Russia that have been coordinating their production with the cartel ...