OPEC would cut production if oil stays below $40 a barrel, said Chakib Khelil, the Algerian oil minister and former president of the group.
Khelil, in Washington, told reporters on Tuesday that the drop in oil demand is likely to end soon. If the price of oil remains at the current level, the world economy would suffer because oil production projects will be canceled, creating future shortages that will cause prices to surge, Khelil said.
Crude lost more than two-thirds of its value since peaking at a record $147.27 a barrel in July, as the global credit crunch slows economies around the globe, eroding demand for energy. March crude settled at $39.56 on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday.
"The anxiety over future oil market stability concerns us all," Khelil said during a speech in Washington. "This intense volatility is in the interests of no one."
Khelil, in Washington, told reporters on Tuesday that the drop in oil demand is likely to end soon. If the price of oil remains at the current level, the world economy would suffer because oil production projects will be canceled, creating future shortages that will cause prices to surge, Khelil said.
Crude lost more than two-thirds of its value since peaking at a record $147.27 a barrel in July, as the global credit crunch slows economies around the globe, eroding demand for energy. March crude settled at $39.56 on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday.
"The anxiety over future oil market stability concerns us all," Khelil said during a speech in Washington. "This intense volatility is in the interests of no one."
