OPEC
holds production, Iran seens no reason to stop exports, quotas
Reuters/Heinz-Peter
Bader
Nigerian
Oil Minister and OPEC President Edmund Daukoru addresses a news
conference after a meeting of OPEC oil ministers in OPEC's Vienna
headquarters January 31, 2006.
By
Zoltan
Simon
AFP
VIENNA
Petroleumworld.com 02 01 06
OPEC said Tuesday it would keep oil production at a near record
high as Iran insisted it would not halt oil exports amid the threat
of a referral to the United Nations Security Council.
Venezuela and Libya, for their part, warned that the price of
crude would rise even further if Tehran was hauled to New York
over its nuclear programme.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided
to maintain its production ceiling of 28 million barrels a day
at a meeting in Vienna.
The widely-expected move followed a 12.0-percent spike in the
price of crude since the start of the year fuelled by controversy
over Iran's nuclear programme and a series of attacks against
oil installations in Nigeria.
Analysts were unsurprised by the outcome of the meeting, which
has been overshadowed by the nuclear wranglings between Iran and
the West.
"There is no link between the oil and the nuclear issue,"
Iranian Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh told reporters. "We
have no reason to stop our exports."
The comments are likely to ease concern that possible sanctions
against Iran, if it is referred to the Security Council, could
provoke retaliatory measures such as a cut in oil exports to industrialised
countries.
Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez however warned that
the price of oil would rise even further if Iran were hauled before
the Security Council.
"If the pressure over Iran continues, the price will be higher,"
he told reporters.
OPEC is producing more than 29 million barrels per day including
output from Iraq, which is not included in the official quota.
But its members have limited room to increase output, with only
Saudi Arabia able to pump significantly more oil so OPEC would
struggle to compensate for any interruption in output from Iran.
As a result, any concern about the Islamic republic pushes up
the price of crude.
Earlier on Tuesday the five permanent UN Security Council members
agreed to take Iran's case to New York over its disputed nuclear
programme. The country could face sanctions as a result.
A referral is likely to come during an emergency meeting of the
Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, which begins
on Thursday.
Washington accuses Tehran of using its nuclear programme as a
cover for developing atomic weapons. The Islamic republic denies
the claim.
Iran is the second-biggest producer in OPEC, but the cartel insists
it has nothing to do with such disputes and emphasises that it
is an apolitical body.
The nuclear issue was not discussed at Tuesday's meeting, said
Qatar's Energy Minister Abullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah.
OPEC, which produces about 40 percent of the world's crude, noted
that prices remained high despite an ample supply of oil in the
market.
It blamed this on "refining bottlenecks and other non-fundamental
factors," according to a statement released by the cartel
after the meeting.
"The conference expressed its concern about the high degree
of price volatility, and the impact this may have on the global
economy, in particular for developing countries," the group
said, explaining its unanimous decision to keep the status quo.
Venezuela's Ramirez said there was a chance the cartel will trim
output when it meets again in Vienna on March 8.
Asked whether OPEC will cut, he said: "Maybe, by between
500,000 and one million barrels per day. We have some ideas but
in March we will see."
Earlier this month, Iran spoke out in favour of a one-million
barrel-per-day cut in the production ceiling, but the country
did not propose a reduction at Tuesday's meeting, Vaziri-Hamaneh
said.
World oil prices were stable on Tuesday. New York's main contract,
light sweet crude for delivery in March, rose five cents to 68.40
dollars per barrel in electronic trading.
OPEC groups Saudi Arabia, Iran, Venezuela, Kuwait, the United
Arab Emirates, Iraq, Nigeria, Libya, Indonesia, Algeria and Qatar.
Production quotas for OPEC member states
Here are the production quotas of the Organisation of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) in millions of barrels of oil per day
(bpd).
The quotas, confirmed on Tuesday by the cartel at a meeting in
Vienna, entered into force on July 1, 2005.
Saudi Arabia 9.099 million bpd
Iran 4.110 million bpd
Venezuela 3.223 million bpd
United Arab Emirates 2.444 million bpd
Nigeria 2.306 million bpd
Kuwait 2.247 million bpd
Libya 1.500 million bpd
Indonesia 1.451 million bpd
Algeria 0.894 million bpd
Qatar 0.726 million bpd
TOTAL 28 million bpd
The quota system only covers production by 10 of the 11 OPEC members.
Iraq has been excluded from the system since the United Nations
slapped sanctions on the country after its invasion of Kuwait
in 1990.
AFP
01 31 06
Copyright
© 2006 AFP. All rights reserved
