Opec divided on oil output before crucial meeting

London

THE Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will hold one of its toughest and most significant meetings in recent years as, faced with sliding prices, its members must contemplate whether to reduce output.

Ahead of Thursday's Opec meeting in Vienna, home to the oil producers cartel's headquarters, its dozen member countries are split on what direction to take after a 30 per cent drop in crude prices since June has slashed revenues.

Opec's poorer members, led by Venezuela and Ecuador, have called publicly for a cut in output, while …