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                          OPEC to Decide on Oil Output

   by VOA News

   OPEC ministers are meeting Friday in Vienna where they will decide
   whether to slash production to help raise oil prices that have fallen
   to extreme lows.

   Most market analysts expect members of the 12-nation global oil cartel
   to maintain production levels.

   Ahead of the semi-annual meeting, OPEC's biggest producer, Saudi
   Arabia, defied calls to slash output, in hopes of protecting its share
   of the market.

   OPEC nations are faced with a massive surplus of oil, sending prices
   plunging more than 60 percent in the last 1½ years.

   The surplus could soon become more severe.

   Iran output

   Western sanctions against Iran's oil industry are set to be lifted next
   year, and Tehran has vowed to reach presanction production levels.
   Before the sanctions, Iran was OPEC's second-largest oil producer.

   Iraq has also vowed to boost supply in the coming year.

   A recent surge in U.S. production of shale oil has provided more
   competition for OPEC producers.

   Led by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states of Qatar, the United Arab
   Emirates and Kuwait, OPEC pumps about one-third of the world's oil, and
   has faced recent pressure from its poorer members to cut output.

   However, wealthier producers argue that cutting production at this time
   would result in further loss of market shares in North America, where
   demand for OPEC oil has been sharply reduced.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/opec-to-decide-on-oil-output/3087410.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/opec-to-decide-on-oil-output/3087410.html