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Azerbaijan attended OPEC meeting

16 March 2009 09:04 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Vugar Israfilov â€“ APA-Economics. Azerbaijanâ€™s Minister of Industry and Energy Natig Aliyev led a delegation to the OPEC gathering in Vienna (Austria).
The ministry said in statement that the minister delivered a report, saying Azerbaijan is the worldâ€™s 10th for oil production, 7th for oil export and 10th for oil refining.
In his words, last year the country produced 45 million tons of oil and this figure will be increased to 65 million tons by 2010.
According to Natig Aliyev, Azerbaijan is a country with great potential to play an important role in transporting energy resources to world markets via the Eurasian transport corridor in the future.
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.