by Yu Zhongwen
CAIRO, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced during its consultative meeting
here on Saturday that it has decided to maintain crude oil output until next
month's meeting in Algeria.
Chakib Khelil, OPEC's current rotating president, who
is also the Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines, made the remarks after the
consultative ministerial meeting on Saturday.
The ministers agreed to take any additional action to
balance supply and demand and achieve market stability on Dec. 17, said Khelil.
The consultative meetings opened earlier in the day
to discuss how to shore up oil prices amid a looming global recession.
Khelil said the OPEC ministers were concerned about
the continued deterioration of the world economy and its impact on oil demand.
OPEC, which supplies about 40 percent of oil in the
world, said on Saturday that oil demand would be affected significantly amid
concerns of world economic recession in the first half of next year.
The oil cartel realized that "in the first quarter of
next year we are probably going to have a decline in demand," Khelil said,
adding "in the second quarter we will have a big decline."
The meeting is also held in preparation for the
upcoming special ministerial-level meeting in the western Algerian town of Oran.
Oil prices witnessed sharp drops in recent months. On
Friday, oil price stood at about 54 U.S. dollars a barrel, declining by some 60
percent from more than 147 dollars a barrel in mid-July.
The OPEC decided to cut oil output by 1.5 million
barrels per day (bpd) in late October and is to discuss further oil output cut
at the upcoming extraordinary ministerial meeting.
Earlier this month, Iran proposed another oil cut of
1-1.5 million bpd.
"It is better for a decision to be made for another
cut of one million to 1.5 million barrels per day," Iran's OPEC representative
Mohammad Ali Khatibi was quoted as saying.
Before the meeting on Saturday, Saudi Oil Minister
Ali Naimi said his country hoped to raise oil prices to 75 U.S. dollars a
barrel, but no measures would be taken until the OPEC meeting in Algeria.
Qatar Energy Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah also said
the current crude prices were too low to sustain investments in the oil industry
and it will be very difficult to boost output capacity.
The OPEC meeting was held on the sidelines of a
meeting of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC).
During the OAPEC meeting on Saturday, Arab oil
ministers reached an agreement to launch a comprehensive study to evaluate the
impact of the current global financial crisis on Arab petrochemical industries.
It was suggested by Egyptian Minister of Petroleum
Sameh Fahmi at a meeting of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OAPEC) on Saturday morning, the Egyptian MENA news agency said.
Fahmi, who will chair the OAPEC presidency as of the
coming year, said the OAPEC study should be presented to the Arab League ahead
of an Arab economic summit next January in Kuwait.
During the closed session, the Arab oil ministers
discussed means of enhancing inter-Arab cooperation in face of the current
fluctuation of the oil prices in the international market.
The OAPEC meeting also tackled the impact of the
global financial crisis that may slow down the inflow of investments in the oil
and gas industry, earlier reports said.
OPEC production cut fails to halt prices slide
NEW YORK, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- Crude futures dipped below 65 U.S. dollars a barrel Friday despite the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to cut production.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery was down 3.69 dollars to settle at 64.15 dollars a barrel, after falling as low as 62.65 dollars, the lowest since May 2007. Full story
OPEC holds urgent meeting in Vienna on oil output cut
VIENNA, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) held an "extraordinary meeting" on Friday in Vienna, aiming to reach a deal on oil output cut.
Ministers in charge of oil production from 13 OPEC members gathered here at the OPEC headquarters, exploring a consensus in abid to address the slide of oil prices. Full story
Crude oil tumbles to 16-month low before OPEC meeting
NEW YORK, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Crude oil tumbled more than 5 U.S. dollars a barrel to a 16-month low Wednesday as the falling energy consumption outweighed the near-certain production cut by OPEC this week.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery slid 5.43 dollars to settle at 66.75 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Futures dropped to 66.175 dollars a barrel during the trading, the lowest price since June 14, 2007. Full story
Iran calls for drastic cut in OPEC daily output
VIENNA, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) should slash daily production by 2 million barrels due to the continuing decline in oil prices, Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said here Thursday.
A cut of "2 million (barrels per day) will stabilize" prices in the international oil markets, said Nozari, whose country is an OPEC member. Full story
Crude oil rebounds as OPEC meeting nears
NEW YORK, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Crude oil prices rebounded on Thursday as some OPEC members called for deeper production cut on the emergent meeting tomorrow.
Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose 1.09 U.S. dollars to settle at 67.84 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Price hit a 16-month low of near 66 dollars a barrel Wednesday as a greater-than-expected build up in U.S. fuel stockpiles exacerbated concerns over slumping demand due to a global economic downturn. Full story
OPEC to keep crude output at current level
VIENNA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will hold its official crude oil production quota unchanged until mid-December, OPEC President Chakib Khelil emphasized before the 149th Ordinary Meeting held in Vienna late Tuesday night.
The market is "well supplied" and should "maintain at a comfortable level," the Algerian Oil Minister said. he also said that "in all likelihood, we will do nothing before December."
Crude prices fall below $104 per barrel
NEW YORK, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Crude prices fell below 104 U.S. dollars a barrel Tuesday for as Hurricane Ike would miss critical U.S. Gulf Coast oil installations and OPEC's president signaled the cartel would leave production unchanged.
The Hurricane Ike hit Cuba Tuesday, weakened from a Category 3 storm to a Category 1. Investors bet the storm would miss the oil installations around the Gulf of Mexico. Full story
Saudi Arabia: OPEC output level contributes to "fairly well-balanced" market
VIENNA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Oil Minister Ai al-Nuaimi said here Tuesday that the international crude oil market is "fairly well-balanced" and that the current OPEC crude oil output is appropriate.
Ai al-Nuaimi said that OPEC had made great efforts to fulfill its objectives and stabilize the market. Therefore, the current market is "fairly well-balanced" and the "inventories are in a healthy position," he explained. Full story
UAE energy minister: OPEC to ensure well-supplied market
ABU DHABI, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will not change its fundamental policy of ensuring a well-supplied market at its upcoming ministerial meeting in Vienna, the energy minister of the United Arab Emirates(UAE) said on Monday.
The UAE Minister of Energy Mohammed bin Dhaen al-Hamli, who will lead the UAE delegation to the OPEC ministerial meeting on Tuesday, made the statement in an interview with the official Emirates News Agency. Full story
