OPEC chief confident of balanced market

Venezuela -- which has been trying hard to persuade oil producers to cut output to boost prices -- said Thursday a technical meeting of OPEC and other crude-producing countries would take place on October 21. Badri on Sunday confirmed the meeting would take place at an expert level and that OPEC and non-OPEC producers will attend. He said the cartel was ready to cooperate with non-OPEC producers to deal with the market glut if they show a similar desire. There were no specific recommendations or proposals for the technical meeting, Badri said, but "it will be a discussion to find a solution" for the oil market. Badri said OPEC believes the current problem in the oil market has been created by all producers, but especially by non-OPEC states which raised their production sharply. "Non-OPEC increased their output by 6.0 million barrels per day in the past six years, and OPEC believes this is the reason for the glut in the oil market," he said. More…