Rejecting calls from the West to put more oil on the market and give consumers some relief from high prices, Opec ministers today agreed to leave output unchanged, the group’s Secretary-General said.

Nigeria's oil reserves have hit 30 billion barrels and further increases in production are expected, President Olusegun Obasanjo's adviser on petroleum Rilwanu Lukman said.

Opec members were today putting the final touches on the their long-delayed plan to slash 1.5 million barrels a day from the cartel’s crude production in an effort to firm up sagging oil prices and protect their main source of export earnings.