Mideast to Cut Oil Investments If Prices Dip Below $80/Barrel

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Middle East oil producers will shelve projects to boost output if crude prices drop below $80 a barrel, a senior official from the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, or Oapec, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Abbas Naki, the Secretary General of Oapec, said that if oil prices fall further "we will see investments and developments in the oil sector in these countries decrease drastically."

Middle East oil producers have come under repeated attack for not investing enough in boosting production capacity, which they say has helped push prices to new records.

"On the long run, this will have a very bad effect on global markets," Naki said.

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