Algiers/Paris  - The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) must decide on a "drastic" cut of oil production during its next meeting, OPEC president Chakib Khelil, told Algerian radio on Thursday.

The next meeting is scheduled for December 17 in Oran.

"The Oran meeting must decide on a drastic (production) cut to establish an equilibrium between supply and demand," Khelil said during an interview on Radio Algerienne. Khelil is also Algeria's energy minister.

He said that talks with fellow OPEC officials convinced him that "there is a consensus" that a production cut is necessary.

Earlier Thursday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in Paris that global oil demand would shrink in 2008 for the first time in 25 years. (dpa)