OPEC facing low prices, demand fall-off

CAIRO, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, meeting Saturday in Cairo, say the informal talks are unlikely to result in production cuts.

Any such move to deal with the plunging price of oil -- $147 per barrel in July and now hovering around $50 -- probably won't be made until a larger round of talks are held next month in Algeria, oil ministers told the BBC.

OPEC leaders say they need more time to study quickly changing data, which continue to show a plunging demand unaffected by earlier cuts. Some OPEC members, notably countries such as Nigeria and Ecuador, say they can't cut production any further because tax revenue drop-offs are blowing holes in their national budgets, The Wall Street Journal reported.

PFC Energy analyst David Kirsch said even Saudi Arabia can't maintain economic stability or its budget plans if oil prices fall and stay under $50 a barrel.

Some analysts told the Journal, however, that OPEC mostly seems powerless to stop the oil demand fall-off from industrialized nations mired in the global financial crisis and economic downturn. They said global demand could turn negative both this year and next.