OPEC meets amid falling oil prices

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries oil ministers met Sunday in Vienna amid a continuing fall in global demand for oil, observers said.

The oil ministers were expected to grapple with whether to cut production again, which would be the fourth production cutback in six months, or risk another sharp drop in oil prices, which have fallen from $147 to $45 per barrel since summer, the BBC reported.

OPEC faces a dilemma if it moves to institute another production cutback, analysts say, because the move could backfire by further destabilizing a shaky world economy and push down prices even further. Observers told the BBC many OPEC members want to let the enforcement of previous cuts take effect before any new curbs on production are approved.

The deliberations could be affected by the presence of Russia, which is not a member of OPEC. Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin has been sent to Vienna to watch the meeting, the British broadcaster said.