Opec slashes output

Oil exporting countries said on Friday they would slash output from November 1 in an attempt to stabilise plunging oil prices. Following are the main points of the statement issued by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) at an extraordinary meeting at its headquarters here.
The meeting was called "to discuss the current global financial crisis, the world economic situation and their impacts on the oil market, the conference (emphasised) it shared the concern of the international community - of which Opec Member Countries are an integral part - over ongoing developments in financial markets," the statement said.
The 12-country cartel said the financial crisis "is already having a noticeable impact on the world economy, dampening the demand for energy, in general, and oil in particular."
"This slowdown in oil demand is serving to exacerbate the situation in a market which has been over-supplied with crude for some time. "Moreover, forecasts indicate that the fall in demand will deepen, despite the approach of winter in the northern hemisphere."
Opec said that oil prices "have witnessed a dramatic collapse - unprecedented in speed and magnitude - to levels which may put at jeopardy many existing oil projects and lead to the cancellation or delay of others". The cartel said it will "continue to provide to the market crude oil volumes required by consumers."
Thus, the organisation decided to decrease the current production ceiling of 28.8 million barrels a day by 1.5 million bpd, effective November 1, 2008. The decision would be reviewed at a new extraordinary meeting in Oran, Algeria, on December 17. "In the interim, the conference requested the secretariat to continue to closely monitor the market."
Opec said it remained committed "to providing adequate supplies of petroleum to consuming nations at all times, as well as to realising its objective of maintaining crude oil prices at fair and equitable levels for the benefit of the world economy and the well-being of the market."