Venezuela Says $70 Oil Needed to Maintain Investments

Oil prices need to rise to about $70 a barrel to sustain investment in fields and avoid shortages, Venezuelan Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said. The South American country is discussing prices with other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Ramirez said today in an interview today in Machiques, Venezuela.

“We’ve spoken of a price band of $80 to $100 a barrel,” he said, declining to specify an immediate price target. “The priority is to stabilize the market and avoid a cycle of disinvestment,” particularly in projects such as deep water and the Canadian tar sands.

Crude oil for February delivery gained 6 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $35.46 a barrel at 2:23 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price has fallen 61 percent in the past year.

Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said Jan. 14 that $70 was the right price for oil. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, yesterday canceled two tenders for new oil platforms because suppliers were charging too much based on current economic conditions.