OPEC failed to agree on crude production for the first time in at least 20 years after six countries opposed a Saudi Arabian push to increase supply as oil trades above $100 a barrel.
“It was one of the worst meetings we’ve ever had,” Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said as representatives of the 12- member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries left the meeting in Vienna after five hours of talks. “We were unable to reach an agreement.”
Crude in New York jumped 2.7 percent in the 20 minutes after the meeting ended with a split underscoring growing divisions within the group that accounts for about 40 percent of the world’s crude. Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest producer, together with Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, proposed increasing group output by 1.5 million barrels a day to 30.3 million barrels. They were blocked by members including Iran and Venezuela, which warned of a “collapse” in prices.
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