VIENNA: Opec’s secretary general said he expected the group to lower its oil output target when it meets in late November, which would be its first formal output cut since the 2008 financial crisis.
Abdullah al-Badri was speaking after meeting Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak on Tuesday. Oil dropped below Opec’s preferred level of $100 a barrel last week, which also marks the pain threshold for top world oil producer Russia’s faltering economy.
Badri was asked if Opec’s 30 million barrels per day output target would still be appropriate next year, when Opec forecasts lower demand for its crude due to rising supplies from the United States and other countries outside the group.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “I think our production will be maybe 29.5 in 2015, not 30m barrels per day. I think our target will be lower, maybe by 500,000.”
Analysts saw the comments as a sign that some in Opec are becoming concerned.
“It’s a signal and it is quite significant,” said analyst Samuel Cizsuk of the Swedish Energy Agency.
