• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Saudi Official: Unsure What OPEC Will Do

Posted on: Sunday, 2 November 2003, 06:00 CST

Saudi Arabia's oil minister said Sunday it was too early to say whether the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will decide at next month's meeting to cut crude production - a move that could raise prices.

Ali Naimi told reporters that OPEC members, who meet in Vienna, Austria, on Dec. 4, are focusing mainly on the stability of the international market.

"I believe we should wait and look at the data when we meet on Dec. 4 and decide accordingly," he said. "I think it is premature. ... I think it is OK to guess, but the data is not at hand to say now what the decision is going to be on December 4."

He made the comments following a meeting of the oil committee of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In September, OPEC lowered its output ceiling by 900,000 barrels a day to 24.5 million barrels, starting this month. The cartel is now focused on maintaining stability, Naimi said.

Asked whether that cut has spared OPEC prices from crashing, he said, "We will see that when inventories are examined at the end of the year."

Naimi said he still favored an oil price at about $25 a barrel, which he said was fair for both producers and consumers.

"We will try our best to keep it that way," the minister said.

At the council meeting, ministers discussed a proposal to build a pipeline that would start in Kuwait, pass through all member countries and end at the Arabian Sea in Oman.

The project is aimed at maintaining oil exports during an emergency that prevents tankers from reaching ports in the region.

Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said the project would have to be studied further. Qatar, a U.S. ally, previously proposed the project during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.

Earlier this year, a council technical team signed a $200,000 contract with the U.S. company Kellogg Brown & Root, a subsidiary of Halliburton, to study the project.

More News in this Category