Venezuelan oil minister looking for oil prices over $60 per barrel
CARACAS, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Venezuela’s Oil Minister Eulogio del Pino has spoken to OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo ahead of a meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC producers in hope of boosting the global oil price, President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday.
“He spoke with the secretary of OPEC, we are making efforts for a new meeting soon between OPEC and non-OPEC members, with Russia at the head … to stabilize the price towards $40 (per barrel) and over $50 and $60,” Maduro said on state TV.
He did not give any further details on the meeting.
In June, Del Pino told Reuters on the sidelines of Russia’s main economic forum in St. Petersburg, a production freeze could be discussed at an informal meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producers in Algeria in September.
A traditional price hawk, Venezuela’s economy is reeling from the collapse in crude prices since 2014.
(Reporting by Eyanir Chinea; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Marguerita Choy)