- Title: AUSTRIA: OPEC AGREES TO KEEP OIL PRODUCTION LEVELS UNCHANGED
- Date: 4th December 2003
- Summary: (W5) VIENNA, AUSTRIA (DECEMBER 4, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. WIDE OF EXTERIOR OF OPEC HEADQUARTERS 0.04 2. SLV ARMED SECURITY ON ROOF ALONGSIDE OPEC LOGO 0.10 3. VARIOUS OF ARMED GUARDS IN FRONT OF OPEC HEADQUARTERS (2 SHOTS) 0.22 4. VARIOUS OF ALGERIAN OIL MINISTER CHAKIB KHELIL ARRIVING FOR MEETING, WALKING INTO BUILDING 0.35 5.
- Embargoed: 19th December 2003 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: VIENNA, AUSTRIA
- Country: Austria
- Reuters ID: LVA2K7YWSG2VYU3X9YGKLEWI4U37
- Story Text: OPEC has agreed to keep oil production levels
unchanged.
OPEC oil producers agreed on Thursday (December 4, 2003)
to keep oil supplies steady for the winter and move
aggressively to shore up high world crude prices early next
year.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) agreed to keep output limits unchanged at 24.5
million barrels a day and meet again on February 10 in
Algiers.
Ministers, locked in a closed session to decide the
group's next secretary-general, have still to confirm the
deal.
The group that controls half the world's crude trade is
expected to cut production in February as demand eases
after the northern winter and to make room for the recovery
in post-war Iraqi exports.
Leading OPEC power Saudi Arabia says it is pursuing a
higher oil price target to offset purchasing power lost to
the decline of the U.S. dollar against other major
currencies.
Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said the
dollar's slump justified current prices.
Other ministers have fallen in line with the effective
raising of OPEC's dollar price target to 28 U.S. dollars
(USD) for an index of cartel crudes, after nearly four
years aiming for 25 USD.
There is no move yet for a change to the group's formal
22-28 USD target band.
International oil sales are dollar-denominated so the
dollar's fall means OPEC nations are paying more, for
example, in euros and yen for European Union and Japanese
goods and services.
"What I think OPEC wants to do here is make it clear
that they are concerned about the falling value of the
dollar, since they receive their revenue in dollars. I
think they want to send a clear message to the market that
they are determined to maximise revenue no matter what it
takes, and at the same time assure the U.S. and major
consumer countries that they shouldn't get excited about
the 30 dollar oil when they look at their revenues", said
Karen Matusic, senior editor with Energy Intelligence
Group.
Producers already appear to have a consensus on the
need for tougher restraints at the February meeting.
Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah said
at least one million barrels daily, four percent, would
need to be removed at that time.
Meanwhile, he said, OPEC should enforce better
discipline with existing limits, which he estimated were
being breached by up to a million barrels daily.
Thursday's deal saw oil prices reverse some of this
week's sharp gains as traders expressed relief that OPEC
had not opted for immediate curbs from January.
By 1325 GMT, January Brent crude futures were 47 cents
lower at 28.67 USD a barrel, just off a low of 28.75 USD.
NYMEX front-month futures fell 46 cents to 30.64 USD.
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