OPEC members may exert pressure on Saudi Arabia at the upcoming OPEC meeting in Vienna to cutback its production amid falling energy prices.

Despite the OPEC decision to maintain crude output levels, under US pressure member-state Saudi Arabia raised crude production to 9.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in July, following an oil summit of consumers and producers hosted by the Kingdom in June.
This was Saudi Arabia's highest output level since 1981, and significantly higher than the informal Saudi OPEC target of 8.94 million bpd.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is pumping almost one million bpd more than its target level of 29.67 million bpd, according to Petrologistics, a consultant company which tracks OPEC supply. Some members of the cartel have voiced concerns about the oversupply of oil in the market.
While oil prices were on the rise, OPEC ceilings and quotas became largely irrelevant. OPEC had a ‘tacit’ understanding that those members capable of boosting crude production should supply as much oil as world oil markets needed.
With the increase in OPEC oil production, particularly by Saudi Arabia, and the decline in world demand, oil prices have dropped from the record high of $147.27 per barrel on July 11 to the current price of $117.17 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“I think there will be pressure on Saudi Arabia to rein in some of its recent unilateral increases,” said Julian Lee, analyst at the London-based Center for Global Energy Studies.
“It all depends on what level of prices Saudi Arabia wants to see.”
(Source: Press TV)