OPEC Officials Say Oil Price Needs To Increase To Ensure Future Supply

Miami, FL (AHN) - OPEC officials said there will be no immediate cuts in oil production, but Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah told a Kuwaiti newspaper that the price of oil should be around $75 per barrel.

OPEC ministers convened at a hastily-called meeting in Cairo, Egypt this weekend in preparation for a larger meeting in Algeria next month.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi said OPEC will do what needs to be done to shore up falling oil prices at the Algeria meeting, but in the meantime, the cartel would not slash production.

Qatar's oil minister Abdullah bin Hamad al Attiya told the Arab news channel Al-Arabiya that prices need to rise to guarantee investment in the oil sector.

"The price between 70 to 80 [dollars per barrel] is the one encouraging in investment and developing new or current oil fields. It falls below 70, the investment would freeze, which will lead to a crisis in supply in the future."

Kuwait's oil minister Mohammed al-Aleem said this week there was no need to make an immediate decision to cut output, but said the market is oversupplied and didn't rule out a production cut in the near future.