Opec publication urges non-members to help stabilise oil market

[LONDON] Opec has criticised unidentified non-member countries for their refusal to cooperate with the oil exporter group in propping up prices and repeated its call for them to do so.

"There is a stubborn willingness of some non-Opec producers to adopt a go-it-alone attitude, with scant regard for the consequences," said the commentary in the latest edition of the monthly Opec Bulletin.

"In the past, Opec has often shouldered the burden of ensuring oil market stability alone. In the current situation, which should be of great concern to ALL, is it not time for this burden to be shared?"

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries last year refused to cut its oil output after non-member countries including Russia declined to offer output curbs, deepening a slide in oil prices.

REUTERS