Venezuelan President: Close to reach accord to curb oil production

"We are trying to reach an accord between OPEC and countries that are not members of this organization," Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was quoted as saying here on Saturday.

He made remarks while making a statement at a joint press conference with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Baku as part of his first state visit to this country.

"We are very close to reaching an accord (on oil production curbs) and signing a relevant deal," Maduro stated.

"I believe that the relevant agreement will be reached within a very short time and we will announce it," Maduro said, adding that this will pave the way for a new period of stability and investments, as well as stable output and new oil price formula.

"The question is that whether 20-30 U.S. dollars per barrel is acceptable for the stability of the world economy. Investments in the oil sector are not enough. Several years ago, the price of oil was 150 U.S. dollars per barrel. This is not correct," Venezuela's President said.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro have made statements for the press following the ceremony of signing Azerbaijani-Venezuelan documents.

Aliyev said that President Maduro's visit to Azerbaijan creates good opportunities for expanding the bilateral cooperation and developing the relations between the two countries in various spheres.

President Maduro, for his part, said that his visit to Azerbaijan will pave way for the development of bilateral relations. He noted that this is important for the regions of both countries.

During the meeting, the two parties exchanged views on studying the cooperation in such spheres as, trade, energy and investment making. The parties also exchanged views on cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC countries for stabilizing the oil prices on the world market.

They discussed cooperation within international organizations, including the Non-Aligned Movement.

OPEC nations reached a preliminary agreement on Sept. 28 to curb oil production for the first time since the global financial crisis eight years ago, in an effort to reduce a global glut of crude that has depressed oil prices for more than two years and weakened the economies of oil-producing nations. The preliminary deal has limited output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to between 32.5 million and 33 million barrels per day.

The deal was reached after several hours of talks in the Algerian capital, though output levels must still be finalized at an OPEC meeting in Vienna in November. Endit