ISSUES....
Inside, confidential, off the record

 

OPEC oil II

AHEAD OF THE OPEC MEETING and it is almost foregone conclusion that nothing shall be done to OPEC's quotas at this meeting. Certainly OPEC has no intention whatsoever to follow through on the pleas made by US Energy Sec'y Bodman that OPEC increase production. Indeed, the delegates to the meeting have gone out of their way to suggest that OPEC may consider cutting production when it meets again in March! This was, we are certain, a direct affront to Sec'y Bodman's calls for increased production, for there is no other need for OPEC's spokespeople to comment upon the next meeting two months hence. Further, one of the US' better allies in the Gulf, Qatar, was the country sent to deliver the news prior to the OPEC meeting. Qatar's Oil Minister (actually, he's Qatar's Minister of Energy and Industry, so his portfolio is even larger), Mr. Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, said yesterday upon arriving in Vienna that OPEC hasn't any other option other than to hold the quota steady. He noted that Qatar and the other OPEC nations are very concerned about the world economy... [and] the price for the time being has been going down a little bit. Within three weeks it's been down about ten dollars. We have to see why; what the problem is, and whether it is going to continue at the same pace. We have learned that when either Mr. Al-Attiyah or Mr. Khelil of Algeria speak, it is wise to listen, for they are the voices of reason within OPEC, balancing the "hawks" (Venezuela and Iran) with the "doves" (Saudi Arabia and Kuwait). Both Mr. Al Attiyah and Mr. Khelil said that OPEC shall hold its quota steady.

-Dennis Garthman/The Gartman Letter/ 02 02 08

- For more on interesting comments, you can subscribe to The Gartman Letter by contacting Dennis Garthman: Phone 757 238 9346, Fax 757 238 9346 or dennis@thegartmanletter.com

Petroleumworld 02 01 08

 

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