OPEC considers cutting oil production as demand destruction continues

Iran's oil minister said Monday that there is too much crude on the market, adding that OPEC is reviewing whether supply exceeds demand before deciding whether to cut back production. Gholam Hossein Nozari spoke on the eve of a meeting of OPEC oil ministers who will decide whether to reduce production or keep it steady. Oil prices have fallen nearly 30 per cent from their highs of almost US$150 a barrel, prompting general concern among OPEC's 13 members, but Iran, the group's No. 2 producer, has been the most vocal proponent of tightening the oil spigots. "We believe the market is oversupplied," he told reporters, adding the ministers planned to make a decision on what to do about production after their review Tuesday. Nigeria's junior minister for petroleum, Odein Ajumogobia, indicated he had not yet taken a position on output. "I really haven't made up my mind," Ajumogobia said upon his arrival in Vienna. Asked whether OPEC could decide on a "rollover" - maintaining current output levels - Ajumogobia said he had "no idea." No one is predicting much of a cutback - if any at all. Still, such a move would not even have been thought of with oil prices setting record after record back in July. But the bull run appears to have paused, if not ended, which means a new look at options for Tuesday's meeting of the 13 ministers at OPEC's Vienna headquarters.