OPEC preserves oil production quotas, oil prices fall

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, has decided not to cut oil production quotas. Thus, OPEC has preserved the official oil production ceiling at 30 million barrels a day.

Some analysts suggested earlier that the cartel would reduce production quotas to support the price on hydrocarbons. 

Following the news about OPEC's decision, which Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi announced, oil prices fell sharply.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude fell below $75 for the first time since September 2010. OPEC's oil "basket" that reflects average oil prices of OPEC countries has dropped by 30 percent during the session - to 73.7 dollars per barrel.

A few days before the meeting of OPEC, Igor Sechin, the head of Rosneft, said that Russia, which is not a member of the cartel, would not reduce the level of production of hydrocarbons, even if OPEC decided to cut production.