OPEC Could Schedule Extra Meeting

OPEC members could decide to hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss oil prices immediately after an informal gathering in Algiers next week, Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Bouterfa said on Tuesday.

Bouterfa told local radio he was optimistic that participants would reach a consensus on how to stabilise the oil markets at the Algiers meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producers on Sept. 26-28.

"Oil ministers may decide to hold an extraordinary meeting immediately," he said.

Algeria has been pushing for oil to be stabilised at around $60 a barrel. Bouterfa has travelled to Qatar, Iran and Russia to lobby for action to steady the market.

International benchmark Brent crude oil futures were trading at about $45 per barrel on Tuesday.

On a visit to Algiers over the weekend, Mohammed Barkindo, secretary-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said an extraordinary meeting could happen if the Algeria conference produced a consensus. He has said the Algiers meeting was for consultations and not decision-making.

Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed