Algeria seeks common front to tumbling oil prices

Published Mar 18, 2015

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Algiers - Algeria was seeking to co-ordinate a global response from oil producing nations to tumbling prices, Algeria Press Service reported, citing Energy Minister Youcef Yousfi. Crude traded near a six-year low in New York yesterday.

“The drastic fall in oil prices has had an extremely negative impact on the economies of all exporting countries, whether Opec or not members of Opec,” Yousfi said after a meeting in Algiers with Angolan Oil Minister José Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos.

Nigeria’s ambassador to Algiers also attended the discussions.

US oil futures slumped to the lowest level since March 2009 on speculation that record supply might start to strain the country’s storage capacity. West Texas Intermediate for April delivery dropped as low as $43.57 (R541.24) a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12.29pm. The meeting in Algiers was part of an initiative by Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the North African country’s president, to increase dialogue between oil exporters, members and non-members of Opec, and to restore balance to the oil market. Nigeria and Angola are Opec members.

As part of Bouteflika’s initiative, messages have been sent since last month to Saudi Arabia, Oman, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Russia, Colombia, Nigeria, Gabon, Angola, Congo and Equatorial Guinea.

Bouteflika earlier on Monday discussed the oil price decline with Borge Brende, the foreign minister of non-Opec producer Norway.

“The impact of the oil price decline is so important, especially for African countries, that it is necessary that we all remain together to share our experience and come up with strategies that would allow us to find a solution,” Nigerian Ambassador Haruna Ginsau said.

Bloomberg

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