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Venezuela to seek OPEC oil production cut: minister

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-24 10:56

CARACAS -- Venezuela said Sunday it will seek a cut of 1 million barrels in daily oil production by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) by the end of this year.

Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said Venezuela is prepared to face the current conditions of the world energy market, as the country's oil industry has come under the control of the state since 2007.

Related readings:  OPEC says further oil output cut likely

The price for Venezuela's oil export stood at an average of $41 per barrel in the week ending on November 21, 5.67 dollars down from the previous week, said Ramirez.

The price represents a deficit of $19.32 per barrel, Ramirez said.

Venezuela slashed production on November 1 by 129,000 barrels a day, after OPEC decided on an output cut in late October.

OPEC, which produces 40 percent of the world's crude, has decided to convene an extraordinary meeting later this month in Cairo to agree on a further cut on production to boost oil prices.

Officially, Venezuela produces 3.24 million barrels of oil per day.