OPEC Chief Calls for Production Cuts

The 11 members of OPEC have agreed to cut production by 1 million barrels a day but are still negotiating about how the cuts will be absorbed by each member.

Speaking from Abuja, Nigeria, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries President and Nigerian Oil Minister Edmund Daukoru said cartel members were nearing agreement on how to divide the cuts, The New York Times said Wednesday. However, Qatar’s oil minister said OPEC members had not determined the level from which the reduction would be made.

Oil prices rose slightly during the morning, the Times said, at $58.68 a barrel, up 16 cents.

Reacting to the OPEC announcement, U.S. Secretary of Energy Sam Bodman said he would seek talks with the cartel possibly as soon as next week, the Times said, to assure the availability of oil.