May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez said that OPEC is seeking an oil price of $70 a barrel in order to maintain new investments in the industry.

Rodriguez, speaking to reporters in Quito, Ecuador, said that sustained low prices could eventually cause prices to rise as production slows and investments decline.

“What’s happening now, all over the world, is a strong fall in investment in oil, in exploration, in refining,” Rodriguez said. “In the long term that will lead prices to shoot higher again.”

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to cut output by 4.2 million barrels a day earlier this year in a bid to bolster oil prices after they plunged 57 percent from a record in July. Crude oil prices have gained 38 percent this year to $61.67 a barrel.

The 11-member world oil cartel will meet in Vienna on May 28 to review compliance with production cuts and global demand.

Venezuela’s Oil and Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez, also speaking in Quito, said he’s “worried” about high oil inventories and that it’s too early to begin thinking about raising OPEC output quotas again, while a decision on another cut would hinge on the development of demand.

“Inventories are 8 percent higher than the average of the past five years,” Ramirez said. “It’s a very bad sign, which we will review carefully at the OPEC meeting as it means that oil is being accumulated.”

OPEC is aiming for a price of $60 a barrel this year and will target $70 a barrel for 2010, he added. The weakness of the U.S. dollar is contributing to recent gains in the price of oil, Ramirez said.

Market Speculation

Speculation in futures markets continues to be the determining factor in setting oil prices, Finance Minister Rodriguez said.

Venezuela, the largest oil exporter in Latin America and a founding member of OPEC, will probably grow 1 to 2 percent this year, he added. “That would already be an important achievement.”

The South American country’s gross domestic product expanded just 0.3 percent in the first quarter, the slowest pace since a two-month oil strike crippled the economy in 2003. Declining consumption and the OPEC-mandated cut in oil production contributed to slowing growth, Rodriguez said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Stephan Kueffner in Quito at skueffner@bloomberg.net; Daniel Cancel in Caracas at dcancel@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 24, 2009 13:43 EDT