Global oil inventories still too high, Venezuela oil minister says

Eulogio Del Pino, Venezuelan oil minister said Friday that global oil inventories remain too high and called on OPEC and other producers to review their global output reduction pact in order to support the sector.

Speaking at an energy conference in Kazakhstan, according to Reuters’ report, Del Pino said OECD oil inventories, standing at about 3 billion barrels, were still 300 million barrels above the level he considered balanced and normal.

“Those 300 million barrels are going to impact speculation in the market,” he said.

“It (the level of inventories) is still very high,” he said.

Del Pino urged producers to look at exemptions granted to countri

es such as Libya and Nigeria in the output reduction deal and the effect of those exemptions on the market.

Del Pino said he was going to discuss the matter with his counterparts in Russia and the Middle East in the near future.

He said oil ministers from Libya and Nigeria were prepared to attend a ministerial meeting in Vienna this month.