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Igor Sechin calls for involvement of independent oil producers including Azerbaijan for oil market stability

16 March 2009 08:51 (UTC +04:00)

He also added that Moscow wanted to send a permanent representative to the OPEC to improve cooperation.
With demand for oil predicted to fall this year, Opec is keen to avoid another decline in the price of oil.
The OPEC, supplier of about 40 percent of the worldâ€™s crude oil, will aim to complete existing production cutbacks agreed to late last year and meet again on May 28 to review policy, Secretary-General Abdalla el-Badri said after yesterdayâ€™s meeting in Vienna.
Due to the global financial crisis, oil prices have dropped from record highs of close to $150 per barrel last year, to just around $40.
Following the meeting OPEC oil ministers said they will stick to present output levels set in December. They also said they would pressure some members who have been overproducing.
Saudi Arabia, which pumps more than twice as much oil as Iran, OPECâ€™s second-largest producer, is the only member to cut more output than agreed last year. Iran and Nigeria have made good on only about half of their promised reductions, according to figures OPEC released March 13.
According to OPEC figures, the 12 member states have so far delivered only around 80% of the 4.2 million barrels per day in cuts that have been agreed since September last year.