MW: OPEC remains united on output decision: Iraqi oil minister
ABU DHABI — Iraq’s oil minister said Monday that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries remains united in its decision not to rein in production, but let the market decide the oil price, despite the uneven impact the stark slide in oil prices is having on the economies of member countries.
“No one’s saying everything is OK,” said Iraq Oil Minister Adel Abdul-Mehdi in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on the sidelines of an energy conference in Abu Dhabi. “Up to now we didn’t see any tension. although there are different views within OPEC, but at the end OPEC is united,” he said.
Since members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to maintain their oil output at 30 million barrels a day at their semiannual meeting prices have slumped to below $60 a barrel. That is taken some member countries to the brink of economic crisis, while powerful Gulf producers are seen to be in a more comfortable position thanks to sizable fiscal cushions built up during years of high oil prices. Iraq itself is facing a budget deficit because of falling prices.
