LONDON: Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi said he had an “excellent” informal meeting with fellow OPEC ministers but declined further comments, while other ministers said no decision was made.

OPEC holds a formal meeting on Friday and an informal meeting of its members ahead of this is rare, although not unprecedented.

It was attended by ministers from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, the UAE, Venezuela, Ecuador, Qatar, Kuwait, Nigeria and Algeria.

Iraqi Oil Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi said that nothing had been decided at the informal meeting.

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said that some members had made proposals that could be discussed on Friday but he would not disclose them.

All comments were made after the meeting was over.

Brent oil prices averaged $44 per barrel during November, down from $48 per barrel in the previous month.

Although supply from non-OPEC sources, namely shale oil, has showed signs of slower year-on-year growth, this has been compensated by higher OPEC output.