[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.16]Oil prices have fallen to their lowest levels since 2009.
[00:06.36]Brent crude oil, one of several kinds of oil on the world market, 
[00:11.60]dropped below $40 a barrel on Tuesday. 
[00:16.16]However, the main group of oil producing countries 
[00:20.14]has been unable to reduce production to limit supply.  
[00:25.76]The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) 
[00:29.88]met in Vienna last week. 
[00:33.20]OPEC said members should be part of climate change-related talks 
[00:38.48]such as the COP-21 meeting in Paris. 
[00:43.96]The group also called on members to maintain, in its words, 
[00:48.64]an "energy dialogue" with countries that produce oil 
[00:53.20]but are not OPEC members. 
[00:56.08]About two-thirds of oil production 
[00:59.44]is carried out by non-OPEC countries.  
[01:04.36]But, the 13 member countries could not agree on any production cuts. 
[01:11.12]OPEC oil production continues at record levels. 
[01:16.48]An OPEC report says 
[01:18.64]the group's oil production increased 
[01:21.36]to over 31 million barrels of oil per day.
[01:26.88]Some experts say OPEC member Saudi Arabia 
[01:31.00]continues its production levels 
[01:33.64]to keep competitors from gaining market share.  
[01:39.12]Some producers in the United States 
[01:41.96]use techniques like hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, 
[01:46.72]to increase oil output. 
[01:49.84]However, that method costs more 
[01:52.72]than the traditional drilling techniques used in many other countries. 
[01:58.84]These may include the indirect costs 
[02:02.20]of pollution to ground water 
[02:04.60]or very small earthquakes in some places.  
[02:09.44]OPEC says it continues its high production levels 
[02:13.76]because it believes demand will increase in the coming year.  
[02:19.52]Experts say worldwide demand for crude, or unprocessed oil, 
[02:24.92]is already about 2 million barrels a day below the current supply. 
[02:31.32]That has led to some markets to have more oil than needed. 
[02:36.72]That oversupply may grow as international sanctions 
[02:41.16]on Iranian exports are lessened. 
[02:44.48]Iran is an OPEC member.
[02:48.12]Indonesia also became a full member of the oil group at the December meeting.  
[02:55.24]Demand for oil has been decreasing 
[02:58.24]as economic activity in many important areas 
[03:02.26]around the world has slowed. 
[03:05.28]Economic growth slowed in the group of 19 nations 
[03:09.76]that use the euro as money from July to September.  
[03:14.92]Growth in the Eurozone was 0.3 percent during that period.  
[03:21.44]Slowing demand in China has also been blamed for low oil prices. 
[03:27.40]China is the world's second-largest economy. 
[03:31.56]Economic growth in China 
[03:33.68]has slowed to a yearly rate of 6.9 percent, 
[03:38.44]the country's lowest growth since 2009. 
[03:43.08]I'm Mario Ritter.