Riyadh wants OPEC oil production to be slashed by between 1.5 and two million barrels per day to counter falling prices, a senior Saudi oil official said Sunday.
"Saudi Arabia backs a production cut" by OPEC, the official told AFP on the sidelines of a Gulf summit, adding that he expected the reduction to be "between 1.5 and two million barrels a day to maintain an appropriate oil price around 25 dollars a barrel."
The six Gulf monarchies -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates -- account for 45 percent of the world's oil reserves and provide around 20 percent of the world's crude.
The summit meeting in Bahrain has reviewed oil policy after crude fell further on the last trading session of the year in London on Friday. Prices dipped to eight-month lows as dealers remained confident that adequate supplies would continue to flood the market.
A barrel of Brent North Sea reference crude for February delivery fell to 23.05 dollars from 23.71 at the close on Thursday.
In New York, the February light sweet crude contract fell 62 cents on Thursday to 25.85 dollars a barrel -- MANAMA (AFP)
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