Oil minister off to Vienna to attend OPEC meeting

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi Minister of Oil Hussein al-Shahrestani on Wednesday left to the Austrian capital to take part in an emergency OPEC meeting that is scheduled to take place this Friday, a ministerial spokesperson said. “The meeting will tackle the global financial crisis and its effects on the oil market, in addition to solutions proposed by the organization to prevent its repercussions for oil prices,” Aasem Jihad told IraqiNews.com. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a cartel of twelve countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. The organization has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular meetings among the oil ministers of its Member Countries. Indonesia’s membership from OPEC was voluntarily suspended recently as it became a net importer of oil. SS (P) 1