Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said Friday that the recent oil price hikes were "very much of the moment" and that the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) should defend international oil prices at its January meeting.

"We have to consider things very carefully, because the prices we are seeing today are very much of the moment," he said in reference to elements like a dispute between Russia and Ukraine over natural gas.

Meanwhile, Ramirez, who is also head of the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, did not rule out a possible new production cut as a concrete step.

He made the remarks before OPEC ministers are to meet for production policy discussions on Jan. 31 in Vienna.

Venezuela is the world's fifth largest oil exporter, with a daily production output of 3.3 million barrels. It is one of the OPEC founding countries and the only member state in Latin America.

Oil prices were reported surging Friday amid worries about the volatile Middle East situation. Light crude for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 56 cents to 63.35 U.S. dollars a barrel in electronic trading by Friday afternoon in Europe. Brent crude gained 86 cents to 61.99 dollars per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

OPEC President Edmundo Daukoru said this week that there was no need for production cuts, because demand would probably stay high in the near future.

Source: Xinhua