Iran and Venezuela Seek Oil at $100 a Barrel
OPEC countries convened for a second emergency meeting to discuss falling oil prices. Prices fell again Thursday after the publication of another rise in United States crude oil reserves, marking the ninth consecutive week of rising supplies. Iran and Venezuela joined forces during the meeting, calling for another cut in oil production amounting to a 1 million barrels less per day produced by the cartel. Iran and Venezuela, the second and fifth largest oil producers respectively, are dependent upon crude prices of $100 a barrel to balance their budgets. They want OPEC to institute cuts immediately to target barrel prices of $80-$100, but experts say that another cut in oil prices before the scheduled December 17th meeting is unlikely.
The continued decline in crude oil prices has led President Medvedev of Russia to pledge his country’s support for further production cuts. Aligning his policies with Iran and Venezuela within OPEC, he has called for immediate cuts to stabilize prices Even if Iran is unsuccessful this time, calls for more cuts will no doubt continue as President Ahmadinejad seeks reelection next year in the midst of 30% inflation, spurred by the fall in oil prices.
Bridget Russell
November 29th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
When are people going to realize that the petroleum industry is too diverse to be controlled by anyone. If Opec had the power to raise oil prices they would have jacked it up with their recent production cut. It didn’t work and I believe that all the prognosticators out there are simply guessing when they forecast future oil trends. The current global economic slowdown seems to point to a steady, lower oil price but who knows? Mark Montgomery boboberg@nyc.rr.com