OPEC Plans Production Cut In February

Delegates to the OPEC meeting in Nigeria say the oil cartel plans to cut production by 500,000 barrels a day starting in February.

The proposed cutback still has to be formally approved by the oil ministers of the 11-nation cartel - the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

But world oil prices rose about $1 to more than $62 a barrel Thursday in response to the news.

The cartel, which pumps more than a third of the world's oil, agreed to a reduction of 1.2 million barrels a day in October.

OPEC members have yet to fully implement that promised cutback. But the threat of tighter oil supplies has helped to firm up oil prices, which dropped to as low as $55 a barrel last month.

International Energy Agency figures show that the OPEC daily output in November was nearly 29 million barrels of oil per day.

In related news, the southern African nation of Angola is expected to formally apply for OPEC membership today.

Angola is the second-biggest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa, pumping 1.4 million barrels a day.

This is the first time that Nigeria, the region's largest oil producer, is hosting the OPEC meeting. Nigerian authorities have deployed some 2,500 men in the capital, Abuja, to ensure security.

By VOA News