OPEC may cut output again: Venezuela's energy minister

Caracas, Oct 31 (Xinhua) The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will consider a second output cut of one million barrels per day in December, Venezuela's energy and oil minister has said.

The world oil market is currently unstable and there has been a big decline in demand by around 900,000 barrels per day, Rafael Ramirez told a state-owned TV channel Thursday, adding that the accumulated overproduction must be reduced.

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He said OPEC members are ready to hold an emergency meeting at any moment if necessary.

OPEC Secretary-General Abdalla Salem El-Badri said Tuesday in London that the organisation could hold a new emergency meeting before its next scheduled session in December if the price slide continued.

Meanwhile, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said during a recent visit to Ecuador that his country would support any additional OPEC production cut to stabilise crude oil prices.

At an extraordinary meeting in Vienna Oct 24, OPEC decided to cut oil output by 1.5 million barrels a day to address the nearly 55 percent decline in oil prices, which reached a record high of over $147 per barrel in mid-July.

According to the agreement, Venezuela must cut production by 129,000 barrels per day. The country currently produces 3.24 million barrels of oil daily.