- Title: AUSTRIA: OIL MINISTERS OF OPEC MEMBERS HOLD EXTRAORDINARY MEETING.
- Date: 27th May 1973
- Summary: 1. SV Secretary-General and Chairman awaiting arrival of President - PAN to other delegates 0.14 2. SV Saudi Arabian delegate 0.24 3. SV Libyan delegate 0.30 4. MV President enters and takes seat at head of table 0.45 5. SV Iraq delegate PAN to Iran delegate 0.53 6. MV President ZOOM back to GV of delegates round conference table 1.09 7. MV Official closing door 1.18 Initials ES. 1625 ES. 1645 Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 11th June 1973 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: VIENNA, AUSTRIA
- Country: Austria
- Reuters ID: LVABNPC5HHQBYXC1X28SUTSKQEWX
- Story Text: In Vienna, Senior Ministers from the eleven nations in OPEC, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, have agreed to re-open negotiations with Western oil companies about their claim for higher oil prices.
The decision came on Saturday (26 May) after a five-hour meeting on pricing policy; OPEC has demanded a rise of about 11 per cent in the posted prices of crude oil.
The OPEC countries supply about 80 per cent of the Western World's crude oil and they want full compensation following the United States February decision to devalue the dollar by 10 per cent.
The special conference in Vienna was called after talks between the oil companies and OPEC negotiators had broken down three times in the last seven weeks. OPEC's three-man Ministerial negotiating team rejected the oil companies' latest offer of 8.1 per cent outright.
After Saturday's meeting a member of the Venezuelan delegation said OPEC wanted negotiations to resume in Geneva on Monday (28th May).
SYNOPSIS: In Vienna, members of the II-nation Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries met on Saturday to work out a pricing policy in their bid for higher prices from the Western Oil Companies.
The delegates agreed to meet the oil companies again for further negotiations Three previous meetings have broken down in deadlock.
Hardliners such as Libya and Iraq have bee pressing for drastic action against the oil companies. But the five-hour meeting decided to continue negotiations. OPEC wants an II per cent price rise -- largely to compensate for this year's ten per cent dollar devaluation. So far the oil companies have offered just over eight per cent -- an offer rejected by OPEC's negotiators.
The new negotiations will be held in Geneva and after the meeting one delegate said they hoped to begin them on Monday. Their outcome is crucial to the West which takes 80 per cent of its supplies from OPEC.
No full details have been released about the meeting which was attended only by OPEC officials and delegates.
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