(VOVworld) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says that if Venezuela's proposal to freeze oil output is signed, the world oil price will be stabilized.
After Venezuela’s state oil corporation PDVSA and India’s ONGC Videsh Corporation signed an agreement on November 4, President Nicolas Maduro urged members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other oil producers to freeze their oil output in order to balance the market and prices. He said he hopes the plan will be approved by OPEC ministers at a meeting scheduled for November 30 in Austria.
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| A man stands close to the Cardon refinery, which belongs to the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSAn in Punto Fijo, Venezuela July 22, 2016. (Photo: Reuters) |
At the World Energy Congress 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 10, President Maduro called for fairer oil prices to help producers. He also suggested that OPEC and non OPEC countries establish a new mechanism to stabilize oil prices. This has been viewed as a first step towards formation of a new alliance between OPEC members and Russia.
According to Maduro, the world oil price has fallen to its lowest level in 40 years, even lower than production costs. In September, on the sidelines of the 15th International Energy Forum in Algeria, OPEC for the first time in 8 years agreed to limit its output to push up prices. Despite the recent rebound, low oil prices have adversely impacted oil producers, including Venezuela, which depends largely on its crude oil exports.