LOC17:56
14:56 GMT
By Abdul-Wahab A-Qaed
VIENNA, Feb 1 (KUNA) -- During their 147th Extraordinary Meeting here
Friday, the oil minister of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) members decided to maintain the output ceiling of 29.6
million barrels a day.
The ministers justified the decision by the fact that the world oil market
had sufficient supplies despite the fluctuations of oil prices which hit a
record high of over USD 100 per barrel in late December, 2007.
They attributed the fluctuations of prices to heated speculation by
traders, malfunctions of oil refineries in major oil importing countries
including the United States, and geopolitical unrest in the Middle East,
Pakistan and Nigeria.
In statements to KUNA following the meeting, Qatar's Minister of Energy
Abdullah Al-Atiyyah reaffirmed that the oil market had sufficient supplies and
there was no need to raise the output ceiling.
He did not rule out the possibility of raising the output during OPEC's
coming ordinary meeting, due on March 5, 2008, if need be.
The world cartel works to maintain balance between supply and demand on the
global market, the minister pointed out.
Meanwhile, Libyan Minister of Energy Shukri Ghanem said the cartel was
following up the developments of the oil market and the indications of the
world economic growth pending making any decision on output change.
For his part, Kuwait's Minister of Electricity and Water and acting
Minister of Oil Mohammad Al-Olaim hailed as "good for the time being" the
Friday decision of the cartel.
The OPEC meeting reaffirmed the cartel's keenness to maintain the stability
of the oil market and serve the interests of oil exporters and importers
alike, he said in an interview with KUNA.
The meeting evaluated the recent oil market data and found no need to raise
the production ceiling, Al-Olaim noted.
Kuwait always works with OPEC to maintain the market stability, he said,
adding that other factors, including real estate crisis and the uncertainty of
the US economic growth, affected the world oil prices.
The meeting adopted a final communiqu{ called "Vienna Accord," he noted.
The world market remained well supplied throughout 2007, according to the
document.
The first half of 2008 is likely to witness a crude inventory build. The
supply/demand forecasts indicate that commercial oil stocks are in line with
the seasonal trend and are expected to remain within their five-year average
during the traditionally lower-demand season in 2008," the document added.
The meeting was held at the OPEC Headquarters here under the chairmanship
of OPEC President Chakib Khelil, Minister of Energy and Mines of Algeria and
Head of its delegation, in order to review recent developments in world oil
markets. (end)
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