The UAE supports cutting oil production to about one million barrels a day, Oil Minister Obeid bin Saif Al Nasseri said on Tuesday.
Intensive contacts are underway between OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) ministers to arrive at the size of the cut, he said, adding that a production cut of one million barrels was appropriate at the present time, according to the Gulf Daily News.
He said the UAE would support any measure taken by OPEC to achieve balance between supply and demand in the oil markets.
Al Nasseri said OPEC wanted to cut output before its next scheduled meeting on September 26 to prevent prices from falling to or below $22 per barrel and defend its $25 per barrel target for OPEC oil.
OPEC ministers were also discussing the idea of convening an extraordinary meeting to decide on cutting production, he said.
He said he was confident prices would rebound to an average of $25 per barrel after the OPEC cut.
He added that the group was considering meeting on August 6 or August 14.
The minister also urged non-OPEC producers to cooperate with the group's efforts to prevent a slide in prices.
He said he would like independent producers Russian, Oman, Angola and Mexico to attend the emergency meeting.
His statements echoed recent remarks by other OPEC leaders, who are alarmed about declining demand for crude oil amid a global economic slowdown.
OPEC, with an official target of 24.2 million barrels a day, pumps about 40 percent of the world's oil.
Its ministers last met on July 3 at their Vienna, Austria, headquarters – Albawaba.com
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