Vienna - The price for oil produced by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose to 43.85 dollars Monday, as the cartel's chairman indicated that production might be slashed further.

One barrel (159 litres) of OPEC-produced crude climbed 0.55 dollars Monday, the 12-member organization announced Tuesday.

Given current low prices, OPEC would consider cutting output at its next meeting in mid-March, OPEC Chairman Abdalla Salem El-Badri said Monday in London, according to media reports.

For the same reason, 35 of 150 exploration or production projects under development had been postponed by the oil cartel's member countries, El-Badri was quoted as saying on the Financial Times website on Tuesday.

In the fourth quarter of last year, OPEC members decided to slash production by a total of 4.2 million barrels per day. (dpa)