Kuwait and Saudi Arabia want OPEC to cut production by between 1.5-2.0 million barrels per day (bpd) at the group's January 17th meeting, sources said today.
"If OPEC's automatic price band mechanism is not triggered ahead of the Vienna meeting OPEC's overall cutback should be at least 1.5 million bpd," a Kuwaiti source said.
The source added: "If an automatic 500,000 bpd cut has already been activated by the price band mechanism before the Vienna meeting, the cartel should then agree a further reduction of 1-1.5 million bpd."
Saudi Arabia today added its voice to support a reduction in crude production by 1.5 million barrels a day when oil ministers meet later this month.
Under its formal price stability mechanism OPEC could cut output by 500,000 barrels per day if prices fall below the cartel's preferred range of $22-$28 for 10 working days.
Reuters