OPEC will not cut output even at $20 per barrel

Saudi Arabia says the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will not cut oil production even if the price falls to USD 20 a barrel.

The kingdom’s Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi made the remarks in an interview with the weekly magazine the Middle East Economic Survey (MEES), Press TV reported.
“Whether it goes down to $20 a barrel, $40, $50, $60, it is irrelevant,” said Naimi.
The minister defended a decision made last month by OPEC, whose lead producer is Saudi Arabia, to continue a daily production cap of 30 million barrels.
The decision caused global crude prices to fall further than the around 50 percent it had already dropped since June amid a global supply excess, a strong dollar and slower growth in demand.
Naimi said OPEC was not surprised by the recent plummet of the price per barrel.
“No, we knew the price would go down because there are investors and speculators whose job it is to push it up or down to make money,” said Naimi.
In addition, the Saudi minister said Persian Gulf nations and particularly his country “have the ability to hold out” with lower prices, adding other nations would be “harmed greatly before we feel any pain.”
Naimi also rejected calls to reduce production, saying it is “crooked logic” to expect Saudi Arabia to cut its production of 9.6 million barrels a day and then lose business to other non-OPEC producing countries.