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To: Richard Nehrboss who wrote (53313)	10/20/1999 3:59:00 PM
From: oilbabe	Respond to of 95453

Looks like OSX closing on the high of the day. Nice reversal in a lot of stocks today. Wednesday October 20, 3:20 pm Eastern Time Saudi oil min wants further evidence of demand pick-up HOUSTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, on Wednesday said he was still waiting for clear signs that world oil demand had picked up, adding that major producers may hold output steady through the second quarter of next year if there is still doubt about the market. Speaking at The Houston Forum, a local business leaders group, and afterwards answering questions, Naimi said that oil prices reflected some speculation, while real evidence of demand was still sketchy. ``I think inventories were just built too high in 1998 and the beginning of 1999. I believe they are coming down but they are not coming down fast enough, partly because real demand has yet to pick up,' said Naimi. ``It all depends on what things look like in March (2000 but) it is not unreasonable that production will be maintained at that level,' he added.

To: Richard Nehrboss who wrote (53313)	10/20/1999 4:11:00 PM
From: oilbabe	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95453

OPEC Could Extend Oil Production Cutbacks Until End of June, Kuwait Says Kuwait Expects Oil Cuts to Be Extended Until July (Update2) Kuwait, Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is likely to extend oil output cuts for three months until the end of June, a Kuwaiti oil official said. Kuwait ``expects the current cuts to be extended until at least the end of the second quarter,' the unidentified official said, according to Kuwait's official KUNA news agency. ``OPEC could increase production in the third quarter next year after it makes sure global oil stockpiles are reasonable,' he said. OPEC's current output cuts, which expire at the end of March, have helped benchmark Brent crude oil rise to $21.84 a barrel from less than $10 in December. OPEC members need to amend those cuts at some point. If they keep production restrained, oil prices could soar, encouraging competition from non-OPEC producers and threatening the group's world market share. At a meeting in Vienna in September, producers said they would maintain the cuts at least through March. Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela will reaffirm that commitment in a meeting in Saudi Arabia in November, Mexico's oil minister has said. Kuwait, the most vocal of OPEC's 11-members in calling for oil output cuts over the last 18 months, has said April would be a bad month to boost oil output because demand is typically weaker then as rising temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere reduce the need for heating oil. Oil producers are reluctant to boost output before a global oil glut that caused prices to hit a 12-year low in December has been removed, analysts said. ``OPEC's cutbacks could cause the largest oil stock draw- down in history over the next four months as winter kicks-in,' said Mark Keenan, a broker with Prudential-Bache (Futures) Ltd. ``We expect U.S. stocks to be reduced to 278 million barrels by the end of the year,' he said. The American Petroleum Institute reported earlier this month that U.S. oil inventories fell 7.14 million barrels to 298.94 million barrels, the lowest level since September 1997. The northern hemisphere winter is expected to boost global oil demand by 2.6 million barrels a day over demand in the third quarter, the largest increase in six years, reported the Washington-based Petroleum Finance Company. The gain in oil prices this year marks OPEC's biggest success in boosting oil prices since the 1970s after years of ineffectiveness and squabbling. Producers expect prices to go higher. ``We expect oil prices will increase with OPEC's continued commitment and the onset of winter,' said the Kuwait official. That would be good news for Saudi Arabia, Iran and other OPEC members, whose revenue plunged by about one-third, or $50 billion, to about $110 billion last year because of low oil prices.