Oil prices at four.year low as OPEC meeting begins

The 12 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) were scheduled to meet in Vienna on Thursday in a bid to stabilize their share of the oil market, which has been glutted with an oversupply of crude oil.

As a result of the glut, earnings between OPEC members have dropped by 30 percent since June.

On Wednesday, US crude oil had fallen 40 cents to $73.69 (58.91 euros) a barrel in New York, while in London Brent crude fell $1.19 cent to $76.54 a barrel.

Members have held separate meetings this week in preparation for the highly-anticipated conference in the Austrian capital, where they will discuss how to stave off the detrimental consequences of a strong dollar, a slowdown in demand in weaker economies and a boom in oil from shale gas producers in North America.

Despite pressure from less financially stable members, such as Venezuela, to cut oil supplies in a bid to drive up prices, OPEC's Gulf state members - the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait - have already ruled out this option. Such a move could result in a further loss of market share in North America, where a shale gas boom has hurt the demand for foreign oil.

"This is not a crisis that requires us to panic ... we have seen [prices] way lower," UAE Oil Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui said following a meeting of OPEC's Gulf state members, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, on Wednesday.

"The oversupply came from the evolution of the unconventional oil production ... I think everyone needs to play a role in balancing the market, not OPEC unilaterally," he said.

Meanwhile, at a meeting between Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC members Russia and Mexico on Tuesday, Russian oil giant Rosneft indicated would only make a slight cut to its oil output.

Some analysts say an OPEC cut of as much as 1.5 million barrels per day is needed to support oil prices and avoid increasing a supply glut.

kms/tj (AFP, Reuters)