By Ben Farey Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- OPEC has given up $700 billion in oil revenues by accepting an oil price lower than its $85 a barrel target, helping to counter the global economic crisis, said the group’s president Chakib Khelil. It’s too early to say whether the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will need to make another cut in production, he told reporters in Vienna today. The group needs to assess the impact of its last production cut before making a further decision, he said. Still, on the evidence currently available OPEC would need to make a reduction of at least 1 million barrels if it met today, Khelil said. OPEC is holding a consultative meeting in Cairo on Nov. 29 and a second summit in Algeria on Dec. 17. U.S. crude futures dipped below $50 a barrel on Nov. 20 for the first time since 2005 as the U.S., Europe and Japan face simultaneous recessions for the first time since 1945. They have crashed 67 percent since rising to a record $147.27 on July 11. OPEC, supplier of more than 40 percent of the world’s oil, announced production cuts during September and October to combat declining oil consumption. OPEC announced a 1.5 million-barrel-a-day cut last month. In September, it urged members to adhere to existing quotas, a move officials said would reduce actual supplies by about 500,000 barrels a day. There has been at least 85 percent compliance with the October cut, Khelil said. “There has been excellent compliance,” he said. Oil prices below $70 a barrel will stop new oil production coming on stream, he said. To contact the reporter on this story: Ben Farey in Vienna at bfarey@bloomberg.net

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