Talking in an interview on a local radio station, he said either all producers shared the sacrifice of lower output or other measures would be necessary.

"We will comply to the extent that the others comply, because I would not have any explanation for the Venezuelan people or for the national economy if we make a sacrifice and others do not comply," Rodriguez said. "Either we share the sacrifice or we will have to take other measures," he added, without elaborating what those measures would be. Rodriguez added that he was consulting with various countries to see "how to unify the criteria with a view to the next meeting" of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on March 23.

Venezuelan compliance with its agreed 5,25,000 barrel per day (bpd) production cut is widely seen as a precondition for OPECto take any further steps to reduce oversupply on world markets. The previous Venezuelan government of Rafael Caldera, which left office February 2, fell about 150,000 bpd short of its commitment to hold production at 2.8 million bpd, citing labour unrest and contractual obligations.

OPEC delegates say the other big stumbling block for further OPEC action to combat low prices is Iran, which argues that OPEC gave it a mistakenly low benchmark production level from which to cut.

Low world oil prices could continue for 18 months to two years before a recovery comes, Venezuela's new Energy and Mines Minister Ali Rodriguez said today. Speaking on a local radio station, Rodriguez said he expected prices to rise again after that time on a combination of lower oil production in the United States and lower investment in exploration and production by the multinational oil companies.

"The analysts that I consult think this situation could last another year-and-a-half or two years," he said. Oil prices -- at theirlowest level in 25 years, adjusting for inflation -- have presented Venezuela's recently inaugurated government of Hugo Chavez with a huge fiscal deficit.

Last year, Venezuela was the world's number two oil exporter and obtained about half of its government revenue from oil. Rodriguez has promised to cut oil production this month and comply with a producers' agreement that Venezuela up to now has been violating. He is holding talks with other producers to see if they can agree on any further measures to boost prices.

The United States' Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) said last week that 135,000 oil wells had been closed and 25,000 jobs have been lost since oil prices began to fall 15 months ago. The IPAA said 360,000 barrels per day of U.S. production had been lost, and that two million bpd was at risk of closure. Rodriguez added that principal oil-consuming countries were holding inventories totalling 6.9 billion barrels -- equivalent to three months of consumption - an excess createdby the repercussions of the Asian financial crisis. (Reuters)