Opec puts output cut on hold

Tough decisions: Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali Naimi at the opening session of yesterday's meeting in Cairo

By News wires

 30 November 2008 12:37 GMT

Opec has deferred a decision on a new oil supply cut amid signs that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are demanding tighter adherence to restraints put in place over the past two months.



Gulf producers want to see strict compliance with recent output curbs of 2 million barrels per day before considering further reductions when the group meets in Algeria on 17 December.

"Compliance I think is OK," said Kuwaiti Oil Minister Mohammad al-Olaim. "But the market conditions require us to be 100% compliant."

Delegates said that ministers discussed how much more they needed to cut in December.

Most, including Gulf producers led by Saudi Arabia, saw a requirement to slice another 1 million to 1.5 million bpd. But for that to happen, delegates said,…

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