Venezuela's Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez told a press conference that his country would support a production cut within the OPEC to boost international crude prices.
He said that Venezuela would consider a proposal to reduce oil output at the next OPEC meeting slated for June 15 in Vienna, Austria.
"During the June OPEC meeting we must evaluate a production cut," he said, adding that Venezuela would do "whatever is necessary to defend the price of oil."
OPEC agreed in March to increase its production by half a million barrels a day.
Should the planned output increase have taken place, the actual crude prices "would have crumbled," said Ramirez.
A reasonable price should be between 40-50 US dollars per barrel, he said.
After reaching a new high of 53 dollars per barrel in April, crude prices slid to below 45 dollars a barrel last Thursday, the lowest since February 2005.
