OPEC to Cut Crude Output

From the NY Times: bq. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided today to cut its official limits on the output of crude by one million barrels a day beginning April 1, according to oil ministers attending a cartel meeting in Algeria. bq. The energy ministers had said stricter adherence to their current production quotas � currently 24.5 million barrels a day � was needed to avoid a sharp decline in the price of oil this spring. bq. The oil minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah, and other ministers confirmed that OPEC had agreed on the reduction in output and, Reuters reported, that OPEC had also agreed to eliminate about 1.5 million barrels a day of what is called quota busting � exceeding agreed-upon limits on production to take advantage of high prices. And more: bq. Revenue from international sales by OPEC, which accounts for about a third of world oil production, surged nearly 25 percent in 2003 � to $247 billion from $199 billion the previous year � as oil prices climbed to their highest annual average level in two decades, according to Cambridge Energy Research Associates. This windfall has made it difficult for the 11 members of OPEC, many of them under fiscal strain, to adhere to their own quotas. Now who are the nations that comprise OPEC? Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. And according to this article: "Saudi Arabia has traditionally dominated the organization, owing to its enormous oil reserves..." Still, bottled water is several times more expensive than gasoline and people keep buying it.