Govt seeks to decrease oil production to stabilise prices

Azmin said that 2018 was a

Reports by HEMANANTHANI SIVANANDAM, MARTIN CARVALHO and TARRENCE TAN 

Malaysia will seek to decrease oil production in order to stabilise global oil prices, says Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali (pic).

“Even though we are not a member of Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), it needs the support of small producers like Malaysia to help stabilise the price of petroleum,” the Economic Affairs Minis­ter said.

Malaysia will take part in the Opec discussion in Vienna today.

Member and non-member countries are set to reach an accord over possible output cuts to address falling crude oil prices.

At present, Brent crude oil prices stand at US$62.34 (RM260) per barrel, compared to US$70 (RM292) a barrel when Budget 2019 was tabled on Nov 2.

Speaking to reporters at the Parlia­ment lobby, Azmin said he would seek to cut crude oil production by 20,000 barrels a day, a decision taken during an Opec meeting last year to stabilise global crude oil prices.

“But that understanding exp­ires this month. We are going to discuss further on whether we want to keep that understanding or elevate it to a more formal type of discussion,” he said.