CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Rafael Ramirez said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will increase coordination in the face of the fall in oil prices, the South American government said in a statement yesterday, without elaborating.
The oil market is waiting to see whether OPEC will agree a cut in production at its Nov 27 meeting to stem the roughly 30 percent drop in oil prices since June.
“We will be united in terms of putting forth a common policy,” said Ramirez, who until September was both oil minister and head of state oil company PDVSA.
Cash-strapped Venezuela has been pushing for a production cut to boost prices and help it cover its mounting debts, arrears and popular but expensive social programmes.
Ramirez has been on a global tour of OPEC and non-OPEC nations to shore up support for an output cut.
