Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi gestures as he arrives at his hotel ahead of an OPEC meeting
Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi gestures as he arrives at his hotel ahead of an OPEC meeting in Vienna November 24, 2014. Al-Naimi said he did not expect OPEC's Thursday meeting to be difficult. Reuters/Heinz-Peter Bader

OPEC countries may not be cutting production any time soon to stabilise the falling oil prices. The oil producing countries may be looking to maintain their market share. But an emergency meeting of the oil producing countries may be needed as not all countries have sufficient reserves to withstand low prices of the commodity for long.

Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi spoke to reporters on the side lines of an annual UN climate change conference in Lima, Peru. According to a report by Sydney Morning Herald the minister pointed out that oil, just as any other commodity, is subject to price fluctuation. "For any commodity, what does it do? It goes up and down, up and down," the minister reportedly said.

With OPEC countries not agreeing to cut oil production, all eyes will be on global demand for the commodity. A significant drop in demand for the commodity from Asian market due to a possible slowdown in China coupled with the increased production in non OPEC countries like the U.S have pushed the oil prices lower in the past few months.

Gulf countries that have sufficient reserves may be able to sustain low oil prices for some time, but countries like Venezuela may already be struggling. Venezuela's foreign minister, Rafael Ramirez, reportedly said that those who are applauding the low oil prices now will have to face the consequences later if oil producing countries do not have sufficient funds to invest in capacity building to meet the global demand in the future.

Venezuela, like many other oil producing countries, would like the commodity's price to stay over $100. The commodity is currently trading at just over $57. According to a report by Bloomberg, the United Arab Emirates energy minister said that OPEC may not intervene in the market even if the prices fall as low as $40.

Meanwhile the dropping oil price is reaching closer to its 2009 levels, a time when the global economy was in one of the biggest recessions of recent times. OPEC Secretary-General Abdalla El-Badri reportedly expects the oil industry in the U.S to decline after 2020. The oil producing countries will wait for the numbers in the first quarter of 2015 before deciding on cutting oil production.