- Title: AUSTRIA: OPEC OIL MINISTERS ARRIVE FOR MEETING ON IRAQ
- Date: 9th March 2003
- Summary: (W8) VIENNA, AUSTRIA (MARCH 9) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. SLV OF EXT. INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL 0.05 2. SMV ALGERIAN OIL MINISTER CHAKIB KHELIL GETTING OUT OF CAR 0.08 3. SCU SOUNDBITE (English) ALGERIAN OIL MINISTER CHAKIB KHELIL, SAYING: "If there is a real demand in the market we are here to make sure...this is a very special situation, and I think our objective is to make sure that we supply the market. That is our main concern and well make sure to do that." 0.27 4. SLV ALGERIAN OIL MINISTER KHAKIB KHELIL WALKING TOWARDS ELEVATOR ESCORTED BY SECURITY 0.35 5. SCU SOUNDBITE (Spanish) RAFAEL RAMIREZ, VENEZUELAN ENERGY AND MINES MINISTER SAYING: "We have come to explain to OPEC the level of recovery of our production which will help the stability of the oil market." 0.48 6. VARIOUS, OF EXTERIOR OF HOTEL WITH SECURITY/ PORTER UNLOADING LUGGAGE (2 SHOTS) 0.57 7. SMV HEAD OF LIBYA'S OPEC DELEGATION ABDULHAFIDH ZLITNI ENTERING HOTEL SURROUNDED BY REPORTERS AND SECURITY 1.12 8. VARIOUS, HEAD OF LIBYA'S OPEC DELEGATION ENTERING ELEVATOR SURROUNDED BY SECURITY, IGNORING QUESTIONS FROM MEDIA 1.28 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 24th March 2003 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: VIENNA, AUSTRIA
- Country: Austria
- Reuters ID: LVACRWVKHTXCS4I2O22TXNBC5BJV
- Story Text: OPEC ministers started gathering in Vienna on Sunday
night for a meeting this week to seek a compromise that
guarantees world oil supplies in the event of war, without
appearing to underwrite military action.
With oil prices nearing 1990 Gulf crisis highs of $41
a barrel, OPEC wants to prevent a price shock damaging to
economic growth among the industrialised powers that buy its
oil.
The Western-friendly core of the Organisation of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, hopes to
show at Tuesdays meeting in Vienna it can safely be counted on
as the worlds energy reserve.
Our objective is to make sure we supply the market, said
Algerian Oil Minister Chakib Khelil on his arrival in
Vienna for Tuesdays meeting.
Pundits say a U.S. assault on Baghdad, possibly just days
away, could send prices rocketing from a damaging $38 a barrel
already for U.S. oil, if only for a short period.
Saudi, home to the worlds only significant spare capacity,
is leading an OPEC charge back to near-record oil
production volumes after years of self-imposed limits.
Riyadh so far this year has jacked up supply by over a
million barrels a day to more than nine million to calm war
fears and compensate for shortages caused by a long-running
Venezuelan strike.
Venezuelan Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez said
on Sunday that his rising country's oil output,
returning after a damaging national strike, would help to
stabilise soaring oil prices.
We have come to explain to OPEC the level of recovery of
our production which will help the stability of the oil
market, Ramirez told reporters.
The United States, where commercial inventories are at
rock-bottom, wants Saudi to squeeze out all it can. Riyadh has
made clear it is willing to do so, with or without formal OPEC
permission.
Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi has laid the groundwork
for a bid to convince consumer countries that he can
compensate for any war disruption without the need for
importers to draw on their massive strategic reserves.
He held talks last Wednesday with IEA Executive Director
Claude Mandil and will meet this week with U.S.
Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham in Vienna.
Producers fear a repeat of January 1991, when an emergency
release by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to coincide
with the start of the allied bombing campaign against Baghdad
knocked $10 off the price of a barrel in a day.
Oil had shot over $40 after Iraq's August 1990 invasion of
Kuwait but the consequent slump below $20 saw cheap crude for
most of the the rest of the decade.
Signs now for OPEC are more encouraging. Abraham has said
it would take a severe disruption for a repeat
drawdown from Washington's Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part
of an IEA release. But he declines judgement on whether an
Iraqi outage would meet the definition of severe, leaving
options open.
Saudi, backed by Kuwait, is hoping to get OPEC to suspend
output limits for the duration of any Iraqi outage.
It faces potential opposition from Iran and Libya who may
want no part in what they see as a policy that provides
economic assistance for a U.S. assault on a Muslim population
in a fellow OPEC member nation.
Internal rivalries also mean that some of those in the
cartel with no spare capacity are reluctant to permit a
production free-for-all that would cost them market share,
even if only for a few weeks.
For those reasons, the group is likely to leave in place
formal quota limits of 24.5 million bpd for 10
members and simply communicate a message guaranteeing
stability of supply in the event of disruption.
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