Deal? What deal?

Russia is keen to coax Opec into a supply agreement, but is ramping up output in the meantime

Hell may have to freeze over before Russia follows through and cooperates with a proposed move by Opec members to limit oil production. President Vladimir Putin sent crude futures higher in mid-October when he claimed that a freeze in production "or even cut" was necessary to put supply and demand back in balance. His energy minister, Alexander Novak, has said the country is amenable to the idea of limiting production to support oil prices-and sat shoulder to shoulder with his Saudi counterpart in Algiers to say Russia would help out, once Opec had figured out its own deal. Back home, though, the mood is different. The country's oil producers are still going gangbusters-taking the country's