Ethanol has no OPEC. Many big ethanol assets are now a public traded asset. IMO- It's only a matter of time before legislators cry foul. The cause, a refiner or those with refining assets wants these assets on the cheap.
UPDATE 1-OPEC raises oil output slightly in Sept - survey Tue Oct 2, 2007 2:24pm BST
By Randy Fabi
LONDON, Oct 2 (Reuters) - OPEC boosted its oil production in September as crude prices soared to record heights above $80 a barrel, a Reuters survey showed on Tuesday.
Ten OPEC members bound by output targets, all except Iraq and Angola, pumped 26.8 million barrels per day, up 60,000 bpd from August, according to the survey of oil firms, traders, OPEC officials and analysts.
The majority of the increase came from the world's biggest exporter Saudi Arabia, which last month convinced fellow OPEC members to open the taps amid surging oil prices.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting countries, source of more than a third of the world's oil, agreed to raise production by 500,000 bpd from Nov. 1.
"With these high prices, there is no doubt in my mind that OPEC is going to jump the gun and ship out more barrels before Nov. 1, but I haven't seen any proof yet," said Paul Tossetti, director of market analysis at Washington-based PFC Energy.
Oil has traded at around $80 a barrel for the past month, surging to a record high of $83.90 on Sept. 20.
Total OPEC output rose to 30.62 million bpd from 30.37 million bpd in August as Iraq and Angola boosted their supplies, according to the survey.
Iraq has issued three tenders in a month to sell Kirkuk oil from its northern fields, indicating exports may be stabilising after years of sabotage kept the pipeline mostly idle. About 7.5 million barrels have been sold via the first two tenders.
"That's an extra 200,000 to 300,000 barrels a day of crude out of Iraq. That is a major change and one to watch," Tossetti said.
Angola has also ramped up output with the start of its Plutonio oilfields.
Angolan state oil company Sonangol said on Tuesday it commenced first production in September, with initial output at 80,000 bpd.
OPEC is expected to give Angola, its newest member, an output target from Jan. 1.
Following is crude output in millions of barrels a day.
Sept Aug Target
output output output Nov 1* Algeria 1.38 1.38 1.357 Indonesia 0.83 0.83 0.865 Iran 3.86 3.86 3.817 Kuwait 2.41 2.41 2.531 Libya 1.7 1.7 1.712 Nigeria 2.16 2.16 2.163 Qatar 0.8 0.8 0.828 Saudi Arabia 8.7 8.65 8.943 UAE 2.56 2.56 2.567 Venezuela 2.4 2.39 2.470 OPEC-10 26.8 26.74 27.253 Iraq 2.1 1.95 Angola 1.72 1.68 TOTAL 30.62 30.37
(R)-Revised.
*Output targets for November 1 were published briefly on OPEC's website, but were subsequently withdrawn without explanation.
OPEC quotas exclude condensate and natural gas liquids and apply to supply rather than wellhead output, defined to exclude movements to, but not sales from, storage. Saudi and Kuwaiti data includes Neutral Zone. Saudi data excludes oil produced for Bahrain. Venezuelan data includes upgraded synthetic oil.
uk.reuters.com |