OPEC Could Extend Production Cuts Through 2000, Kuwait's Oil Minister Says
By Gabrielle Monaghan (Bloomberg)
OPEC Could Extend Cuts Through 2000, Kuwait Oil Minister Says
Vienna, Jan. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The world's leading oil
exporters could extend their output-cutting agreement through the
end of 2000, Kuwaiti oil minister Sheikh Saud Nasser al-Sabah
said.
The minister spoke as he arrived in Vienna for a meeting of
OPEC's Ministerial Monitoring Committee, which reviews how
closely members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries have followed their program of restricting output cuts,
which caused prices to double last year. The agreement was to
have expired March 31.
``We don't need to do anything in March,' al-Sabah said.
OPEC's decision should be to continue with current export
policies, he said. ``We may be willing to go through the year
2000' at current output levels, the minister said.
Al-Sabah's remarks came on the heels of a statement by Saudi
oil minister Ali al-Naimi, who told reporters today that OPEC had
a ``consensus' to continue with a production plan that cut daily
output by an amount equal to about 7 percent of world supply.
Crude oil rose as much as 84 cents, or 3.2 percent, to
$27.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil has risen about 10 percent this week, approaching a nine-
year high of $27.15 a barrel set in November.
Kuwait, which holds 9.3 percent of known global oil
reserves, has been one of OPEC's staunchest advocates for
renewing the production-cutting agreement. |
