Iran's Khatami says oil rally
result of OPEC resolve
07:05 a.m. Jul 15, 1999 Eastern
TEHRAN, July 15 (Reuters) -
Iranian President Mohammad
Khatami said on Thursday that the
current oil price rally was the result
of the resolve of OPEC members to
rein in production, the official news
agency IRNA reported.
''The resolve of OPEC member
states is the main cause of the current
(price) improvement (and is)
maintaining an acceptable position by
the organisation on the oil market,''
Khatami said.
He also said he was in favour of
holding a meeting of the heads of
state of the 11 members of the
Organisation of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC) in
Caracas.
''Though he did not confirm he
would attend, President Khatami
said he was very happy to be invited
and said that the summit would
underline the spirit of cooperation
that is part of OPEC today,'' an
Iranian oil official told Reuters.
During an hour-long meeting on
Thursday, Khatami was invited to the
summit, to be held in late 1999 or
early 2000, by Venezuela's Deputy
Foreign Minister Jorge Valero and
Deputy Energy and Mines Minister
Alvaro Silva who were in Tehran as
part of a tour of OPEC states.
''Perhaps it would be better if the
summit took place sooner. During
the past two years, great losses have
been inflicted on nations and
governments of oil producing
countries,'' he said.
On Thursday, world benchmark
Brent Blend crude oil traded at a
20-month high of $19.43 a barrel
amid fresh evidence that large output
cuts made by OPEC and other
producers were chipping away at oil
stockpiles.
The rally is a welcome one for oil
producers after months of depressed
prices. Early this year, Brent traded
more than $9 a barrel below
Thursday's high.
''President Khatami was very
positive in his meeting with the
Venezuelans about the strength of the
oil price and expressed his opinion
that the price will continue to
strengthen,'' the Iranian oil official
said.
Most OPEC members have
expressed willingness to attend the
OPEC summit in Caracas though it is
unclear whether all heads of state
would attend or be rpresented by
senior government officials.
Silva and Valero are to travel to
OPEC linchpin Saudi Arabia on
Friday.
Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. |
