Reduction in Oil Production Might Be Approved

OPEC members are likely to approve plans to reduce production when they meet Jan. 17 to discuss oil prices, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said. “The cut will be enough to bring [market] stability,” said Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi, without elaborating on how much crude production will be slashed. Naimi made his remarks after the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council called for production cuts at the end of their two-day summit in Bahrain. In a summit communique read by Secretary-General Jamil Al-Hejailan on Sunday, the group said its energy and oil ministers should “work on reducing production during the next OPEC meeting in order to preserve market stability and achieve targeted prices.” Similar comments have been made recently by officials from Kuwait and Venezuela. The GCC states are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries increased production four times in the last year to bring once soaring prices down.