UPDATE 1-OPEC should cut and set oil price floor - Venezuela

CARACAS, Oct 30 (Reuters) - OPEC should cut oil output by a million barrels per day, possibly before its next scheduled meeting in December, and should set a minimum price target of $70 or $80, Venezuela's oil minister said on Thursday. Rafael Ramirez said global demand for crude oil had slipped by 900,000 barrels per day and warned that sinking prices would cause oil investment to collapse worldwide. "We estimate that at $70 per barrel the point arrives when projects now in visualization or in development begin to be abandoned in a massive way. This is not good for anybody," Ramirez said after opening an auction to develop three oil blocks in Venezuela's Orinoco heavy crude region. World demand for oil has dropped on global economic woes and the likelihood of a recession in the United States. OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri on Tuesday said the group may hold another meeting to review policy before its scheduled conference in December if prices keep falling. Ramirez said Venezuela will propose that OPEC reestablish target price bands, either between $70 and $90 or $80-$100. (Reporting by Brian Ellsworth; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Christian Wiessner) Keywords: VENEZUELA OIL/OPEC [e-mail] cmr COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.

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