Oil production cuts unlikely this month: OPEC head

ALGIERS (ALGERIA): More oil output reductions aren't likely this month because OPEC members haven't yet fully enforced previous quotas and the organisation needs more data before it reaches a decision, the cartel's president said today.

Chakib Khelil's comments came as Iran called for a new output cut of at least 1 million barrels per day, in addition to the 1.5 million cut decided by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on October 24 to try to sustain slumping prices.

The Iranian statement led some observers to consider that the 13-member producer's cartel could decide to further diminish production during its special session in Cairo on November 29.

But Khelil, who is also Algeria's energy minister, said it wasn't realistic to expect the cartel to reach a decision before the organisation collects all the data on current output levels.

Iran's call for more cuts is "a wish," Khelil said. "It's unlikely there will be sufficient data to reach a realistic decision" at the Cairo meeting, he said. Such a move is more likely on December 17 when OPEC holds its summit in the Algerian city of Oran.

"In Oran, we'll have all necessary information to make the right decision," he said. OPEC, which produces about 40 per cent of the world's crude oil, had hoped its production cut in October would halt the dramatic fall in prices from a record USD 147 in July to below USD 70.

And oil prices are continuing their spiral downward. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell USD 1.20 to settle at USD 57.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday.