December 11, 2002	Wednesday	Shawwal 6, 1423

LONDON, Dec 10: Opec oil producers are likely to agree a hefty reduction in supplies when they meet this week to support crude prices near $25 a barrel, leading Opec power Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said support was growing in Opec for the group to cut actual output and at the same time raise formal production targets made irrelevant by quota-busting.

“Now there is a need to cut,” Naimi told reporters in London. “Most also agree the need to raise the (formal) ceiling,” he said.—Reuters