Oil Producers to Discuss Decreasing Production

OPEC and non-OPEC producers will decide today how much oil needs to be removed from world markets to boost crude prices at least 20%, said the oil minister for Saudi Arabia, the largest producer.

Officials from the 11-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet in Vienna, along with seven non-OPEC states, including Mexico and Russia.

Oil prices are down more than 25% to about $18.97 a barrel since the Sept. 11 attacks, which compounded an already existing slowdown in energy demand. OPEC’s target price range is $22 to $28 a barrel.

“We are willing and determined to defend $25 a barrel,” said Ali al-Naimi, the Saudi oil minister, Saturday.

The members of OPEC, which supplies close to 40% of the world’s oil, rely on oil sales for as much as 90% of government revenue. The group is concerned a glut of oil may send prices down to $10 a barrel, a level last seen in 1998.

The 10 members of OPEC with production quotas, all except Iraq, agreed to cut output on three separate occasions earlier this year by a total 3.5 million barrels a day, or 13%.

The exporters’ group has said it’s reluctant to cut quotas again without participation from non-OPEC producers such as Norway and Russia, which could otherwise gain market share.