Oil Prices Decline Ahead of OPEC Meeting

LONDON – Crude oil prices fell Monday ahead of a closely watched OPEC meeting, despite persistent supply fears tied to Iran’s diplomatic standoff with the West over its nuclear ambitions and militant attacks in Nigeria.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell 32 cents to $67.44 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by afternoon in Europe. March Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell 46 cents to $65.78 a barrel.

On the Nymex, heating oil was down less than half a cent to $1.8038 a gallon, while gasoline edged lower to $1.7350 a gallon. Natural gas for March delivery advanced 26 cents to $8.770 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Several oil ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting countries including its president, Nigerian Oil Minister Edmund Daukoru, have said the group has no reason to cut output right now.

Some raised the possibility of a cut coming up, however, citing a buildup of excess supply.

There had been worries Iran, OPEC’s second-largest oil producer, could use the meeting to withhold all or part of its 2.4 million barrels a day of exports as a response to criticism over its nuclear ambitions.

Iran insists the restarting of its nuclear program is aimed at generating electricity, while the U.S. and several European countries fear it could lead to nuclear weapons.

Germany, France, Britain and the U.S. have called for Iran’s referral to the United Nations Security Council, a move that could lead to sanctions. China and Russia are not seeking Iran’s referral.

In Nigeria’s restive south, gunmen robbed South Korea’s Daewoo oil company offices of more than $250,000 in cash, police said Sunday.

Four foreign oil workers held hostage by a militia in southern Nigeria since Jan. 11 were released Monday, said Ekiyor Welson, a regional government spokesman.

A rash of violence and hostage takings that began earlier this year in the area of swamps and creeks has left more than two dozen dead, cut exports and helped push up crude prices. It was the second such armed robbery in days in the oil-producing region in Nigeria, Africa’s largest petroleum exporter.