SWITZERLAND: Organisation of Petroleum Exporting countries (OPEC) edges near accord to raise target oi price for first time since 1986

Record ID: 828352

  • Title: SWITZERLAND: Organisation of Petroleum Exporting countries (OPEC) edges near accord to raise target oi price for first time since 1986
  • Date: 26th July 1990
  • Summary: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (JULY 26, 1990) (REUTERS - JEAN-PIERRE BAUMONT) GV EXTERIOR HOTEL INTERCONTINENTAL WHERE OPEC CONFERENCE TAKING PLACE AND ARMED SECURITY (2 SHOTS) SV PAN NAZER ARRIVES SV OTAIBA ARRIVING SV PAN GHOLAMREZA AGHAZADEH ARRIVING SCU OTAIBA SPEAKING (ENGLISH SOT) TRANSCRIPT SEQUENCE 5 REPORTER: ARE YOU SAYING THIS DOESN'T AFFECT YOU AT ALL ? OTAIBA: WE DON'T TALK POLITICS HERE, WE TALK ECONOMY AND BUSINESS. REPORTER: MINISTER, DO YOU THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA THAT IRAQ ACTUALLY CAME IN WITH THOSE SORT OF DEMANDS? DO YOU THINK IT'S ACTUALLY GOOD FOR THE GROUP AS A BARGAINING POSITION, TO COME IN WITH THOSE SORT OF DEMANDS ? OTAIBA: NO, NOT AT ALL. OPEC SHOULD BE KEPT AWAY FROM POLITICAL GAMES REPORTER: AND HAS IT BEEN KEPT AWAY ? OTAIBA: AND AS LONG AS WE ARE HERE WE ARE AWAY FROM ANY POLITICS SCU IRAQ'S ISSAM AL-CHALABRI SPEAKING (ENGLISH SOT) TRANSCRIPT SEQUENCE 6 REPORTER: WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A MINIMUM REFERENCE PRICE HERE, SHOULD IT JUST BE OVER 20 U.S. DOLLARS ? WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ? ISSAM: WELL I'VE ANSWERED THAT QUESTION, AND I SAID THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS STILL BEING DISCUSSED AMONG THE MINISTERS TO TRY AND FIND A SOLUTION BETWEEN THE FIGURES THAT HAVE BEEN PROPOSED. I PROPOSE 25. REPORTER: WHAT WOULD YOU BE HAPPY WITH ? ISSAM: I'D BE HAPPY WITH WHAT I PROPOSED OF COURSE REPORTER: ANYTHING BELOW THAT ? ISSAM: WE WILL WAIT AND SEE. SCU KUWAIT'S RASHEED AL-AMEERI SPEAKING (ENGLISH SOT) TRANSCRIPT SEQUENCE 7 AMEERI: I DON'T THINK THERE IS A POLITICAL TENSION, IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT IS, THAT WILL GO AWAY IN A VERY SHORT TIME. A LITTLE MISUNDERSTANDING REPORTER: WHY DOES THE REST OF THE WORLD SEE THAT DIFFERENTLY, THOUGH ? AMEERI: I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD.
  • Embargoed: 10th August 1990 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
  • Country: Switzerland
  • Topics: Economic News,Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVA8OEV23GFKUG1UXXWQ0N44X6VE
  • Story Text: A new deal is in sight for a minimum price for oil, it was announced at the start of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) talks in Geneva on Thursday (July 26).

    Iraq has repeated its call for the Opec reference price to rise to 25 US dollars a barrel from the current 18 US dollars.

    Opposition to Opec raising the reference price was reported to have collapsed but oil ministers were said to have a new deal ready which would favour a modest increase to 20 US dollars.

    Oil ministers laboured to keep politics out of OPEC in their comments to reporters, and tensions were eased by news that Kuwaiti and Iraqi envoys will meet in Saudi Arabia at the weekend.

    Oil minister for the united Arab Emirates (UAE) Mana Saeed Otaiba said OPEC should be kept "away from the political games."
    Saudi Arabia's Hisham Nazer said there would be an accord to raise prices and that all those present at the talks were interested in arriving at a very strong agreement which would help to raise the price.

    In answer to a reporter's question Iraq's Issam Abdul-Rahim al-Chalabi said his demand for a minimum reference price of 25 U.S.dollars per barrel was still before the meeting.

    Average world oil market prices are now around 17.50 U.S.dollars per barrel compared with 14 U.S.dollars early last month.

    The high output of Kuwait and others is blamed by Iraq for recent weak oil prices.

    Baghdad says has been robbed of the money it needs to restore its economy, ravaged by the 1980-88 Gulf War with Iran and laden with 80 billion U.S.dollars of debt.
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