November 7th 2014
Ecuador and Venezuela plan to present a joint proposal at the next meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries that will “imply” cutting some production, President Rafael Correa said.
“We have spoken with Venezuela. We are going to have a joint position of protecting prices, which will imply cutting some production,” Mr. Correa said Thursday night in a visit to the Amazon region, without providing any further details on the plan.
“I think in general OPEC will maintain prices, although it may not take immediate measures,” Mr. Correa added.
The next OPEC meeting is scheduled for Nov. 27.
OPEC is facing the lowest oil prices in at least four years.
Ecuador is the smallest OPEC member. It produces about 550,000 barrels of crude oil a day.
On Thursday officials of the cartel signaled that OPEC would likely act to curtail the slide in oil prices once crude hits $70 a barrel, though OPEC officials in Vienna have said they don’t expect oil to fall below $75 a barrel in the near term.