Gazprom sees 10 percent cut in oil output

MOSCOW, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may cut production by 10 percent if world crude prices do not recover, Gazprom said Wednesday.

Alexei Miller, chief executive of the Russian energy giant Gazprom, said he predicted the OPEC cartel could cut production to stem the spiraling decline in world energy prices, RIA Novosti reported.

"We see that some OPEC countries, accounting for quite a large share of the oil market, are now proposing to cut oil production and delivery to the market even further," said Miller. "In particular, there are talks of reducing production by 10 percent."

OPEC in an emergency meeting in Vienna Oct. 24 agreed to cut oil production by 1.5 million barrels per day, beginning Nov. 1, in an effort to push oil prices higher. The move did not have the intended effect, however, as fears of a global recession spilled over to the energy market.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said in October the country had no intention of cutting oil production in the wake of the OPEC decision.

Vadim Yakovlev with Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Gazprom, said, however, production could fall by as much as 5 percent if Moscow did not move to shore up the energy sector amid declining prices.