TEHRAN, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- The OPEC oil cartel should consider holding additional meetings to manage the global economic crisis more effectively, the Iranian OPEC governor said Wednesday.
Mohammad Ali Khatibi, the Iranian governor to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said the world economic downturn suggests OPEC members need additional meetings to evaluate production and other decisions, the Islamic Student News Agency reported.
Meetings "should be held more frequently because the market's developments come quickly and the management of this crisis-hit market needs more frequent meetings," he said.
OPEC held extraordinary meetings in October and December to establish quotas with the goal of bringing oil prices into profitable territory. Crude oil prices reached $147 per barrel in July but have plummeted to below $50 in recent trading.
Khatibi said some oil-producing nations were hoarding inventories, which he blamed for creating poor market conditions.
"Some oil producers store their inventories, and this has made the oil market fragile," he said.
OPEC holds biannual meetings in March and September but calls extraordinary sessions as needed. The next OPEC meeting is scheduled for March 15 in Vienna.
