Energy chief urges OPEC not to cut oil production

The head of the International Energy Agency on Monday urged OPEC not to cut production so as not to stifle the still-growing economies of countries like China, India and Brazil.

“Providing enough oil for those countries is a very important element of maintaining global economic prosperity,” Nobuo Tanaka said at a news conference in Paris, where the IEA is based.


“We think that the current level of prices are still very very high and the market very tight. At the end of the year, if OPEC continues current production, we will have a good level of stocks so the market will ease,” he said.

Chakib Khelil, president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said Sunday that members plan to announce a “substantial” cut at a meeting that begins Friday in Vienna.

AP