Saudis to raise oil price $4 a barrel, cartel says

September 8, 1980

The president of OPEC said Sunday that Saudi Arabia -- America's No. 1 foreign oil supplier -- intends to increase its price by $4 per barrel, possibly coupled with a cutback in oil production. At present Saudi Arabia charges $28 for each of the 9.5 million barrels of oil it produces daily. Petroleum industry experts have predicted the Saudis are on the verge of chopping production by as much as 1 million barrels a day to try to reduce the oil glut on the world market and bring the 13-nation cartel back to a unified price structure.

The Saudis provide the US with nearly 24 percent of its oil imports.