Opec suffers internal division as the market slumps
Venezuela calls to cut supply and hike prices, but Saudi Arabia is sticking with its plan
With his country's economy in freefall and worried about elections on 6 December, Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro needed some help from Opec. Eighteen months into the oil price slump, it was time for the group to cut supply and raise the price, he declared during a four-hour television broadcast on 2 December. "The hour has come to put the oil market in order." Maduro and his oil minister, Eulogio del Pino, hatched a plan for Opec's 4 December meeting in Vienna. Production would be cut by 5%, equivalent to about 1.6 million barrels a day (b/d) - enough to end the relentless daily build in global stocks and spark a recovery, Venezuela had hoped. Algeria, Ecuador, Iran and Iraq - Opec's
Also in this section
10 December 2024
Sector at economic and strategic crossroads, but clear path ahead for midstream additions
30 November 2024
Decades of turmoil have left Iraq’s vast energy potential underutilised, but renewed investment and strategic reforms are transforming it into a key player in the region
29 November 2024
The country's fifth and sixth oil and gas bid rounds have attracted a range of new players with gas as well as oil ambitions—and there’s a seismic shift in the contracting process
28 November 2024
Iraq is charting a new path for its indigenous resources and its youth, hoping to electrify the future with a mix of reforms and modernisation to fuel growth
