Venezuela seeks backing from Algeria for stable oil price

ALGIERS (Reuters) – Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro held talks on oil prices with Algerian authorities on Tuesday, on the latest leg of a so far unsuccessful diplomatic tour to try to persuade fellow OPEC states to prop up a sinking market.

Maduro, who was due to meet with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika during a two-day visit to Algiers, said he did not expect a new OPEC meeting over the next few weeks because of a lack of agreement over policy.

Maduro would discuss with Bouteflika “OPEC and the importance of guaranteeing a stable oil price,” according to Algerian state news agency APS.

He said there would be no OPEC meeting in coming weeks because of “a lack of consensus over an initiative presented by his country.” APS said without giving further details.

Maduro met Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Salman in Riyadh on Sunday. No details of that meeting were given, but there was no indication the world’s biggest oil exporter was closer to taking action to curb the more than 60 percent drop in world prices.