OPEC chief says Algeria meet not for ‘decision-making’

OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo said the meeting of the cartel’s members scheduled to take place later this month in Algiers will be an informal one and not a decision-making meeting, Algeria’s state news agency APS reported.

During a visit to Algiers on Saturday, Barkindo said that contrary to the one that Oran hosted in 2008, the upcoming meeting would be informal.

“The holding of the meeting was suggested by Qatar in June to allow OPEC’s members to consult each other and exchange their points of views,” Barkindo said.

Several bilateral meetings between OPEC members will be held during the informal meeting, which will be held September 27 on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum, he added. “We will discuss fundamental issues which involve both producers and consumers.”

Barkindo’s comments seemed to downplay expectations that oil producers could reach a deal to freeze output, in order to bolster prices.

An earlier attempt to tackle the oil price slump failed earlier this year, when talks in Doha collapsed due to tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran.