World
  |
|
OPEC ministers comfortable with output levels before meet
AFP/Dieter Nagl
Saudi Oil minister Ali al-Nuaimi (C) arives at his hotel in Vienna, where the oil cartel OPEC will meet this week. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries opened informal talks Tuesday ahead of a ministerial meeting Thursday, when no major shift to its production policy is expected.By Ben Perry
AFP
VIENNA
Petroleumworld.com 03 14 07The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries opened informal talks here Tuesday ahead of a ministerial meeting Thursday, when no major shift to its production policy is expected.
Key OPEC figures who arrived in the Austrian capital on Tuesday included Ali al-Nuaimi, oil minister of Saudi Arabia -- the world's biggest oil producer -- and his Iranian counterpart Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh.
A number of ministers addressed local media agencies before departing for Vienna, where OPEC is headquartered, and agreed that oil prices were sitting at a comfortable level, around 60 dollars a barrel.
"We don't see a need for reducing oil production at present," said Kuwaiti Energy Minister Sheikh Ali Jarrah al-Sabah, quoted by his country's KUNA news agency before heading to Vienna.
"There is a balance between supply and demand and the price is good," he said.
While the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is set to keep its output target at 25.8 million barrels of oil per day later this week, the International Energy Agency signalled Tuesday that the oil cartel would need to boost exports ahead.
"For the time being we are just looking at the situation, the market is close to balance," said Shukri Ghanem, who heads Libya's National Oil Company.
World crude oil prices rebounded on Tuesday after the IEA warned in its monthly report that falling inventories of oil could put upward pressure on prices in coming months.
Gains were capped, however, by forecasts for warm temperatures in the United States, the world's largest energy consumer, and by expectations that OPEC would not alter its output, analysts said.
In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for April delivery jumped 1.07 dollars to 61.81 dollars per barrel in electronic deals.
New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, gained 64 cents to 59.55 dollars per barrel in floor trading.
"So far most signals by OPEC suggest that there will be no change in output targets at its March 15 meeting," said the IEA, an energy watchdog for industrialized countries.
"That comes as little surprise: current output levels continue to tighten the market and prevailing targets give the producer group the flexibility to tighten supplies by another 1.0 mb/d.
"In reality, stock trends and prices are signalling that higher OPEC exports will be needed in the months ahead," the Paris-based IEA added in its report.
In December, OPEC decided to cut production by 500,000 barrels per day from February 1, following a reduction of 1.2 million bpd in November.
That left its quota at 25.8 million bpd, but in February OPEC produced 26.54 million according to an estimate by energy analyst group Argus.
OPEC's quota meanwhile excludes output by Iraq and the cartel's newest member Angola.
The cartel's move to slash production towards the end of last year came after crude prices had tumbled from record highs above 78 dollars in mid-2006 to about 60 dollars.
On Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates also expressed satisfaction with the state of the market.
"Currently, there is a balance in supply, demand and world commercial oil inventories," Oil Minister Mohammad al-Hamli said, according to the official WAM news agency.
But he added that the cartel would "take suitable measures" to maintain balance in the market and stabilize prices, which could imply a further cut in production if needed in the future.
"Any slowdown in the world economy would negatively impact growth in demand for oil, and subsequently lead to a drop in prices," al-Hamli said, expecting a "seasonal" drop in world demand of around 1.7 million bpd in the second quarter of 2007.
The IEA meanwhile warned that global oil inventories could show the biggest fall for more than a decade in the first quarter.
"Preliminary data suggest that OECD stocks have fallen by over 1.26 mb/d (million barrels per day) over the first two months of the year, and could be heading for the largest quarter stock draw for over ten years," it said Tuesday.
AFP 13 2139 GMT 03 07
Copyright© 2007 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
Your
feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us
their views and comments about this article.
Write to editor@petroleumworld.com
Any
question or suggestions, please write to:
editor@petroleumworld.com
Best
Viewed with IE
5.01+
Windows
NT 4.0, '95, '98 and ME +/ 800x600 pixels