Venezuela clings to oil freeze stance amid crisis

OREANDA-NEWS. May 23, 2016. Venezuela has not given up on a plan for oil producers to freeze output. Oil minister Eulogio Del Pino is "quietly but insistently" lobbying Opec and non-Opec producers on the need to adopt measures to boost oil prices, the oil ministry says.

A previous attempt to arrange an output freeze in Doha on 17 April ended in failure after Saudi Arabia pulled out of the deal, and the proposal appears to have lost traction as prices head towards \\$50/bl. Lower oil prices have had a significant impact on Venezuela, and the country faces a deepening crisis as shortages of basic goods intensify, and as widespread power cuts and payment problems affect oil output.

Opec will convene in Vienna on 2 June for a scheduled ordinary meeting.