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Venezuela's oil Minister Rafael Ramirez:
OPEC to maintain output for nowAFP/Rodrigo Arangua
Venezuelan Minister of Energy & Petroleum Rafael Ramirez, answers questions to the press before the 141st Extraordinary Meeting of the OPEC in Caracas. OPEC will likely maintain its oil output levels for now but should consider a cut by September, Ramirez said ahead of a cartel meeting.By Elio Ohep
Petroleumworld
CARACAS
Petroleumworld.com 06 01 06Venezuelan energy minister Rafael Ramirez said Wednesday that OPEC will probably maintain present output levels for now, but might consider a cut by the next meeting in September.
Ramirez said reducing output was justified because markets are well supplied, and present level of prices were due to political uncertainty in the Middle East.
However, other members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries - OPEC seems to agree that it is better to maintain their official production quota, of 28 million barrels a day.
Edmund Maduabebe Daukoru, Minister of State for the Natural Resources and President of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), dismissed the possibility of registering changes on the production levels
Right now the market is sufficiently supplied,” said Daukoru.
“Right now the market is sufficiently supplied,” said Edmund Maduabebe Daukoru, Minister of State for the Natural Resources and President of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), he dismissed the possibility of registering changes on the production levels.
“The value of the crude in the market is due to downstream factors in the process, such as the refining process, added to geopolitical tensions and speculation,” he added.
Qatar's oil minister, Kuwait's governor to OPEC, Siham Abdulrazzak Razzouqui and Abdullah al-Attiyah, both said Tuesday that they didn't foresee any adjustment to the existing production quota of 28 million barrels per day.
Oil prices retreat on Wednesday, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, shed 74 cents to 71.29 dollars per barrel in closing trades after trading as low as 70.05.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for July delivery sank 64 cents to finish at 70.41 dollars per barrel.
- Elio Ohep, editor@petroleumworld.com, 58 412 996 3730, Caracas.Petroleumworld 31 2200 GMT 05 06
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