Opec will effectively cut its oil output following its meeting this week, a move that will support oil prices, the top oil official for Opec member Libya said on Thursday. The exporter group called for members to "strictly comply" with their formal supply target at its meeting that ended on Wednesday. Some members, such as Saudi Arabia, have been pumping above their limit in recent months.
"Practically, it will lead to a reduction of production as the ceiling is less than the actual production," Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya's National Oil Corporation, said by telephone from Tripoli.
"It will shore up the market and help stop the deterioration of the price." Analysts said the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was seeking to support oil at around $100 a barrel after prices plunged from a record high of more than $147 in July to around $102.