Opec agrees to keep oil production steady
Global oil cartel Opec today agreed to hold crude oil production steady amid soaring prices caused by supply worries in Iran, Nigeria and Russia.
Opec, which provides over a third of the world’s oil, will keep production near a 25-year high of 28 million barrels per day.
The decision was made at a meeting of Opec’s 11 members in Vienna where Iran reassured the West it had no plans to slash its oil exports despite a political row over its nuclear ambitions.
It was feared that Iran would withhold some of its exports in protest at the threat of sanctions by the United Nations.
Iran insists its programme is peaceful but others suspect it is aiming to build nuclear weapons.
Oil prices climbed 12% in January to more than 68 US dollars a barrel on the back of the row and attacks by militants on Nigerian oil sites.
