Al Attiyah says Opec output cut was vital

Qatar's Minister of Energy and Industry Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah said Opec's decision on Friday to cut oil production by one million barrels per day was necessary to mop up excess supplies and prevent a price crash.

He said the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) would act quickly and raise output it if felt the world needed more oil because of an exceptionally cold winter.

"Anyway, Opec ministers will meet again on January 30 in Vienna to study second-quarter demand, which will be lower, and weigh what action to be taken," he told Gulf News.

"There was a need to act because there was a surplus that was pressuring prices," the minister said after opening an office of Qatar Petrochemical Co in Dubai. "All data, even by the International Energy Agency, confirm that demand next year will be lower than this year," he said.