RIYADH, 12 November — Oil ministers from Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Venezuela said yesterday they agreed on the need for action to curb oversupply in the oil market. Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi and Venezuela’s Alvaro Silva, both OPEC members, and Ernesto Marten’s from non-OPEC Mexico, issued a joint statement after holding talks in the Spanish capital Madrid.
"The ministers see there is a need to take effective measures to balance the market and they agreed on the importance of taking required decisions within the coming days to reduce the level of the current surplus in production," the Saudi Press Agency quoted the joint statement as saying.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected on Wednesday to agree a fourth output cut this year and ministers have said it is considering reducing production by between 1-1.5 million barrels per day.
The group has also been pressing for action from non-OPEC producers, in particular Russia, Norway and Mexico.
Naimi arrived in Moscow yesterday for meetings with Russian officials before visiting Norway on Tuesday.
The statement said the ministers "noted with concern that the petroleum market during the past few weeks has continued to suffer from a lack of balance between supply and demand".
This was a result of slowing world economic growth, exacerbated by the Sept. 11 attacks, which had reduced demand while oil stocks rose, the statement added.
Meanwhile, representatives from 30 oil-producing and consuming countries began talks here yesterday as part of a joint exercise to achieve greater transparency in terms of oil data statistics.
"The idea is to have accurate data at the disposal of those in charge of the decision-making process relating to oil supplies and demand," Dr. Majid A. Al-Moneef, economic adviser to the minister of petroleum and mineral resources, told Arab News.
The meeting, which will conclude today, is being attended by delegates from OPEC, the United Nations, the International Energy Agency and other organizations connected with the petroleum industry. Representatives from Saudi Aramco and the Central Department of Statistics are also participating in the deliberations.
Explaining the significance of the event, Dr. Al-Moneef said one of the problems encountered by the oil producing and consuming countries is the lack of reliable statistics despite having a database.
He said international experts will seek to come up with a common definition on the parameters used, such as demand, stock and suppliers so as to reach a common understanding on the definition of the terms. Such an exchange of information would help improve the system of data collection.
