The OPEC oil-producing cartel will cut output by one million barrels per day (bpd) from April 1st, the organization said in a statement Saturday.
"The conference has taken the decision to stabilize the market. The present weak world economy and the traditional downturn in demand ... both clearly point to a need for a correction," the statement, quoted by AFP, said.
Earlier in the day, OPEC President Chakib Khelil said that the cartel will cut output by "perhaps more than one million" barrels per day (bdp).
The reduction, the second this year, was larger than expected and appeared to ignore concerns about a global economic slowdown by the 11-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said the agency.
He was speaking as OPEC ministers arrived for a meeting to finalize the production cut, after failing to hammer out a figure on Friday.
Asked about the size of the cut, he replied simply: "Perhaps more than one million" bpd.
All other ministers were tightlipped as they arrived at OPEC Vienna headquarters for the early morning meeting, which followed a three-hour formal session Friday evening.
The cut is the second year, after a 1.5 million bpd reduction in January aimed at averting a slump in world oil prices.
OPEC, which has seen prices fluctuate wildly, from 10 dollars to over 35 dollars, over the last two years, is nervous about a new price slump.
Analysts say the 11-member organization has been split between countries wary of consumer countries' concerns about the impact of high oil prices on world economic growth, and others who want to keep prices high to maintain their revenues.
A million barrel a day reduction would shave limits for 10 OPEC members, excluding sanctions-bound Iraq, by four percent to 24.2 million bpd, said Reuters.
The agency said the magnitude of new curbs would put the heat back under oil prices which have declined sharply from last year's 10-year highs - Albawaba.com
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