The Organization for the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will stand firm with its decision to keep output unchanged even if Crude Oil prices hit $40 a barrel, the energy minister of the United Arab Emirates Said.
Minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei said the group will not immediately take a decision to change its collective production target of 30 million barrels per day, and added it will take at least three months before an emergency meeting is made.
OPEC is not set to meet until June 5.
“We are not going to change our minds because the prices went to $60 or to $40,” Mazrouei said to Bloomberg at a conference in Dubai.
“We’re not targeting a price; the market will stabilize itself.” Mazrouei said current conditions didn’t justify an extraordinary OPEC meeting. “We need to wait for at least a quarter” to consider an urgent session, he said.
The minister said the UAE was not informed of any indications or plans for an emergency meeting.
Brent crude oil prices have fallen nearly 20% since November 27 when OPEC decided not to curb production. Brent ended at its lowest closing since July 2009 on Friday at $61.85 a barrel.
It seems the drop of oil’s price has no bottom, with OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq deepening discounts on their shipments to Asia, making the market share war a reality.