The World - News from Sept. 24, 1989

OPEC oil ministers met for nearly three hours behind closed doors in Geneva to thrash out a range of issues, including a possible boost in oil production, but bickering immediately broke out between the cartel’s fractious members. The officials of the 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries adjourned the first round of talks until this afternoon. OPEC Chairman Subroto of Indonesia said that discussion of the main issues had been postponed to give participants time to meet for bilateral discussions. The ministers are divided over whether the cartel should raise its output by about 500,000 barrels a day in the October-December period. Some members, whose nations need to maximize revenue from sales of crude, fear that such a boost would hurt world oil prices.