Vienna---Latin American crude producer Venezuela, struggling to cope with sharply lower oil prices, is seeking support outside OPEC to stabilise the market, it said Tuesday before this week's cartel output meeting.
Venezuelan Oil Minister Asdrubal Chavez is currently in the Austrian capital to participate in Friday's meeting of the 12-nation Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Caracas proposes to establish a "technical working group" of both OPEC and non-OPEC nations, it said in a statement obtained by AFP.
The aim of the group is "to monitor the market and make recommendations to increase the effectiveness of the decision-making process of the producing countries".
The statement does not explicitly urge OPEC to lower its official output ceiling, but instead emphasises that oil producers needed a better understanding of events "that could destabilise" the market.
Chavez added "the best way towards facilitating market stabilisation is through agreement and active cooperation among all exporters" and noted that some technical work was already being undertaken between OPEC and non-OPEC countries.
The text continued: "The Venezuelan government has promoted some initiatives in its search for consensus among core members of OPEC and non OPEC producers, targeting common views that help define joint energy policies towards market stabilisation."
On Friday, OPEC is widely expected to refrain from altering its daily oil output target of 30 million barrels despite the glut that sent prices slumping 60 percent between June and January.
Despite a recent recovery in prices to around $60, prices remain almost 50 percent lower than at the same stage last year.
OPEC opted to freeze the collective output ceiling again in November, sending prices sliding further, in a policy aimed at hurting non-OPEC output, particularly US shale producers that have higher costs.
AFP
