 |
OPEC May Cut Oil Output At Any Time -- Venezuelan Minister
OPEC may reduce oil output by about 1 million to 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) to help stabilize the oil price, Venezuelan Energy and Mining Minister Alvaro Silva said on Tuesday.
Consultations were under way between member states of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on the date for a special meeting, Silva said, adding that the oil cartel would probably hold a meeting in Vienna on August 6 or 14.
But he also said a decision on an output cut is possible at any time and even without a meeting, and that OPEC will keep a close watch on the markets in the coming few days.
Silva noted that oil supply exceeds demand in the international oil market with a surplus of some 2 million bpd. A production cut would help balance supply and demand and make the crude price return to the level of about 25 U.S. dollars per barrel, he said.
Silva attributed the falling oil price to market speculation, the slowdown in the world economy and the resumption of Iraq's oil exports.
He expressed the hope that non-OPEC oil producers will also attend the Vienna meeting in joint efforts to stabilize the oil market.
The OPEC's plan to discuss an output cut at an emergency meeting in August caused a slight hike in crude oil prices in the international market, with OPEC's crude price rising from last Friday's 22.93 dollars to 23.50 dollars per barrel on Monday.
In This Section
|