OPEC Might Meet Again Before March, Venezuela Says

Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may hold an emergency meeting before its next scheduled meeting in March, Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said.

Ramirez, who was attending a summit of gas-producing nations in Moscow, didn’t say exactly where or when such an oil meeting might take place.

Four days ago, OPEC President Chakib Khelil said OPEC may meet in Kuwait City on Jan. 19 to discuss further production cuts, adding that OPEC will continue to reduce supply as demand falls until an “equilibrium” is reached.

The potential Kuwait meeting may coincide with a meeting of Middle East leaders in that city, according to Khelil. The oil group’s meeting is currently scheduled for March 15 in Vienna.

OPEC decided on Dec. 17 to deepen existing supply cuts, and set a production limit for 11 of its members at 24.845 million barrels a day, which would be 4.2 million barrels a day less than it pumped in September, according to figures published by OPEC.

Asked about the potential for coordinating natural gas supply, Ramirez today said: “When the gas market is more developed worldwide, perhaps we’ll have more instruments to regulate the market.”