Gulf producers expected to resist output cuts at Opec meeting

Kuwait City

GULF oil producers, led by Saudi Arabia, will resist attempts to cut output at an Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) meeting next month as preserving market share remains their top priority, industry analysts said.

A decision by the 12-member Opec not to cut production in November sent prices crashing 60 per cent before a partial recovery in recent weeks. Gulf and other Opec members said that they wanted to safeguard their share of a market that has faced a supply glut as a result of sharp increases in the production of shale and sand crudes.