No Action Decided On Weak Crude Prices in OPEC, Non-OPEC Meeting

Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio del Pino has been vocal about curbing production due to crude oil's meteoric plunge this year. 

A meeting between member countries of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and oil-producing non-members failed to result in any agreement on crude output limits or a target range for prices, Bloomberg reports. 

Ilya Galkin, Russia Energy Ministry’s head of international relations, reportedly told journalists that the technical meeting in Vienna didn't discuss what to do about the plunging cost of crude, though another OPEC policy-deciding meeting is expected for early December.  

Meanwhile, more technical talks are also expected to be held to discuss the possibility of a November summit proposed by Venezuela, who has purportedly had an extremely tough time with the crude plunge and has been calling for a curb in production. 

"At $40 a barrel, we are below the equilibrium price," said Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio del Pino in separate reports. 

"We are concerned about the depletion of the reservoirs, the decline of the production and about the investment that is required."

The Latin American country also reportedly wants "a committee that would define what is the equilibrium price,” said del Pino, which he pegs at around $88 per barrel. 

“We need two, maybe three technical preparatory meetings to study the proposal more in detail and depth,” Russia's Galkin said.

Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Norway, Mexico, Oman and Russia were all reportedly at the technical meeting. 

Earlier in August, Ship & Bunker reported that OPEC production had risen to its highest point in three years due to Iranian supply.