On November 27, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to maintain oil extraction at current levels as Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, blocked a motion by Iran, Venezuela and Algeria to cut oil production levels.
Iraq fully supports Saudi Arabia's position, arguing that the global energy market would be able to correct itself, making oil production cuts unnecessary, Abdul-Mahdi said in an interview to the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
The price of Brent crude oil has fallen by over 30 percent in the past three months. The last time oil prices fell so sharply was in 2008, when it crashed from $145 to $40 barrel, though it rebounded fairly quickly in 2009.
Following OPEC's decision not to cut oil production, prices dropped even further.
