OPEC Members Demand Output Cut

Those observors looking for a signal, just got one. Nigeria and Algeria have ordered international energy companies to reduce their oil production by as much as 10 per cent, a sign that OPEC will stick to its plan to reduce world oil production despite record prices.

The orders will affect the production of international companies including Royal Dutch/Shell, ChevronTexaco and Eni in Nigeria, and Anadarko and Cepsa in Algeria, which enjoyed high profits last year in part because of their unrestricted output.

Algeria, which ordered the cut from mid-February, and Nigeria, which asked companies to reduce their output from April 1, have in the past been the OPEC members most reluctant to forgo revenue by reducing their oil output.