OPEC to Reduce Oil ProductionThe Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will cut the oil production by between 1 million and 1.5 million barrels per day, it was learned Monday.OPEC secretary general of OPEC Ali Rodriguez disclosed the reduction plan in an interview with state VTV television.. Ali Rodriguez, also Venezuela's Energy and Mining Minister, warned that the drop in prices could take oil "very far below 22 dollars" a barrel. He pointed out that an extraordinary session to be attended by ministers from OPEC nations on August 6-7 in Vienna, is to "stop the fall in prices that has become very pronounced in the last few days." "There are many uncertainties in the market right now, including the present world economic performance, as well as supply and demand projections," Ali Rodriguez added. "OPEC is taking a much more proactive role in monitoring market developments, and we feel there might be a need ahead of our ordinary meeting, scheduled for late September," the secretary general stressed. Rodriguez's remarks followed a similar statement by Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali Naimi, who said last Saturday that ministers of the OPEC were considering reducing output by as much as 1.5 million barrel per day. OPEC said the price for its benchmark crude, an average of seven different crudes, fell last week by more than one dollar to 23.07 dollars a barrel, as concerns over weak demand mounted. |
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