PressTV... UAE Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei says the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will not cut its output or hold an emergency meeting even if oil prices fall as low as $40 a barrel.
“We are not going to change our minds because the prices went to $60 or to $40,” Mazrouei said at a conference in Dubai.
Noting that the dramatic fall in oil prices do not justify an extraordinary OPEC meeting, he said, “We’re not targeting a price; the market will stabilize itself.”
“We need to wait for at least a quarter” to consider an urgent session, he said.
Some oil ministers have said that the organization has no fear of oil prices falling to that level amid a price war with Russia and high-cost US shale producers.
The UAE minister’s comment could add to further downward pressure on the oil price, which has already dropped almost 50 percent since June on sluggish global demand and rising production from the US.
Oil price recently fell to its lowest in five years, with Brent crude slipping below $63 a barrel on December 12. US crude was down $2.14 to $57.81 a barrel.
The head of OPEC, however, reiterated on Sunday that the organization would not try to shore up plunging oil prices by reducing production.
“The fundamentals should not lead to this dramatic reduction (in oil prices),” Abdullah al-Badri said. However, he said the OPEC oil producers have no target price for oil.
Market analysts say oversupplied global markets are to blame for the plunging prices.
Some major oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, have recently increased crude supplies, leading prices to plunge.
Many believe oil prices are being used as a political weapon against Iran and Russia.