TEHRAN, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may convene earlier than its Dec. 17 meeting if oil prices continue to drop, officials said Monday.
The oil cartel, in an unscheduled October meeting in Vienna, said it would cut its production quota by 1.5 million barrels per day in an effort to stem the precipitous decline in crude oil prices on world markets.
Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said if prices declined further, OPEC may review production quotas before its next scheduled meeting, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
"If this trend continues, it is possible for a meeting to take place before December," Nozari said.
Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday hovered around $60 per barrel, though Nozari said the October production cuts did have a moderate effect on the markets.
He further called on non-OPEC members to consider their production quotas. Russian energy giant Gazprom last week said it forecast a 10 percent production cut from OPEC, adding its own production could fall by more than 5 percent.
