Chavez: Oil Prices Won't Fall
The Associated Press, Sun 21 Oct 2001
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Oil prices won't fall further, visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said in Tehran on Sunday.
Chavez, who arrived in Tehran from Riyadh, said that Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, the three-largest producers inside OPEC, had agreed to a strategy to bolster sagging prices, currently averaging $21.50 a barrel.
``After my talks in Saudi Arabia and with President (Mohammad) Khatami in Iran, I would like to tell the international community that oil prices will not fall further,'' Chavez told a news conference before leaving for the airport to depart for Russia.
``We have adopted a victorious strategy to revive oil prices to fair levels,'' Chavez said.
He said his talks with Khatami centered on the oil market, terrorism and the war in Afghanistan.
Iran was Chavez' fourth stop on a 21-day foreign tour to promote cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC nations. His next destination, Russia, is an important non-OPEC producer.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has cut production to shore up prices, but many non-OPEC members have not. Chavez wants prices between an average of $22 and $28. Venezuela has already cut its output by 10 percent — 350,000 barrels a day.
Oil prices have fallen this year because of a cooling world economy and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. |
