Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Angolan Oil Minister and OPEC President Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconselos said the current oil “price trend is not comfortable”, as crude fell for a fourth day.

“We know the price had a significant decrease and the trend is not comfortable,” he said today in the capital, Luanda. He did not clarify his comments further.

Countries from Angola to Nigeria are struggling to fund their budgets after oil fell more than 70 percent from July’s all-time high of $147.27 a barrel.

De Vasconselos, who was speaking to Angolan oil ministry officials, said the country produced more than 695 million barrels of crude in 2008. The temporary closure of the Block 18 oil operation curbed production by 12.6 million barrels, he said.

OPEC oil ministers agreed on Dec. 17 in Oran, Algeria, to cut supply by 9 percent from Jan. 1 to 24.845 million barrels a day to revive prices.

Angola’s own quota was reduced to 1.517 million barrels a day, down 19 percent from its November production, making it the largest proportional cut amongst OPEC members.

To contact the reporter on this story: Candido Mendes in Luanda via the Johannesburg bureau at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 9, 2009 10:32 EST