Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Oil output
cuts by major producers should continue until the end of March,
the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council said.
Ministers from the GCC, including Saudi Arabia, the world's
largest producer, issued the statement after a one-day meeting in
Riyadh. The gathering comes before Wednesday's semi-annual
conference of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
in Vienna when output levels for the next six months will be set.
The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates
and Qatar, who are in OPEC, and Oman and Bahrain, who are not.
``After a review of the situation of supply and demand and
of the level of stockpiles, the six Gulf oil ministers agreed
that stability of prices require continued implementation of the
agreement on production cuts until the end of March next year, so
that world stockpiles could then retreat to their normal level,
securing balance between world supply and demand,' the ministers
said.
Qatar was represented in Riyadh by its Minister of Finance,
Economy and Trade, Yousuf Kamal, since the country's oil
minister, Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, was in London for
medical treatment following a heart attack. His office said he
would attend the Vienna meeting.
Ten of OPEC's 11 members plus a handful of others such as
Mexico and Norway have pledged to cut about 5 million barrels a
day, or 7 percent of world supply, from February 1998 levels.
Crude oil prices have more than doubled this year, and
closed Friday at $24.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange, a 2 1/2 year high. Oil had slumped to a 12-year low of
$10.35 a barrel in December then rebounded as OPEC expanded
earlier cuts.
The GCC ministers ``expressed their satisfaction' at the
rise in oil prices, which they attributed to the cuts. They said
they expected other producers ``to follow suit' in keeping cuts
in place until end-March.
Secretary-General Post
In addition, the GGC ministers said they supported Saudi
Arabia's candidate for the post of OPEC secretary-general.
The senior post in the secretariat, largely an
administrative rather than policy-forming role, will be opened at
this meeting when the current secretary-general, Rilwanu Lukman
of Nigeria, resigns to become his country's senior energy
adviser. Iran and Algeria have also put forward candidates.
The Saudi candidate is Sulaiman al-Herbish, who joined the
Saudi oil ministry in 1962 and has been the kingdom's OPEC
governor since 1990.
The GCC ministers said they ``consider his candidacy an
expression of Saudi Arabia's intention to continue its efforts in
the service of all oil producers and to maintain growth of world
economy.'
Analysts said Algeria's candidate for the post -- Yousef
Yousfi, who is the current OPEC President and Algeria's current
oil minister -- could be a more likely choice as a compromise
between OPEC heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran. Yousfi helped
coordinate meetings in the Netherlands in March that led to an
expansion of the output cuts.
Secret Meetings
``Yousfi is a diplomat and he can make the secretariat work
together. He's been trusted by the others to get secret meetings
together and get the job done,' said Roger Diwan, director of
global oil markets at Petroleum Finance Co. in Washington.
Before leaving for the Riyadh meeting, Kuwaiti oil minister
Sheikh Saud Nasser Al-Sabah told the Kuwaiti state-run news
agency KUNA that he still supported higher prices.
Asked whether a price of $23 a barrel was acceptable, he
said ``we want a better price in the future.' The minister
didn't specify what type of crude oil he was talking about. Brent
crude oil settled at $22.80 a barrel in London on Friday.
¸1999 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Trademarks
quote.bloomberg.com |
