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Pastimes : The Justa and Lars Honors Bob Brinker Investment Club Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Justa Werkenstiff who wrote (75)	7/5/2000 8:22:26 PM
From: Justa Werkenstiff	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10065

OPEC Chief Demands Consultation on Output Hike By Paul Hughes Reuters CARACAS (July 5) - OPEC President Ali Rodriguez dampened hopes among consumer nations of an early oil output hike to cool sizzling oil prices, insisting that the cartel would only raise production after full consultations and the agreement of all members. OPEC giant Saudi Arabia surprised oil markets earlier this week by promising to unleash about 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of its huge spare capacity in a bid to bring prices down towards OPEC target of $25 a barrel. But Rodriguez, who is also Venezuela's Energy and Mines Minister, said he had been assured by OPEC Secretary General Rilwanu Lukman that Riyadh would not go it alone and argued that Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi's comments had been misinterpreted by the media. ``It was simply a journalistic interpretation. It was not what the minister said,'' Rodriguez told reporters. He said that al-Naimi had telephoned him on Tuesday but he had not been able to take the call. ``The OPEC secretary general informed me officially yesterday that there was no idea by any country to raise output unilaterally,'' he said. ``We all continue to share what has been a longstanding practice in OPEC to take decisions unanimously and after consultation.'' Nevertheless, Rodriguez said that ``if the price stays above $28 (a barrel) for a long time, OPEC would take actions.'' Expectations that Saudi Arabia would start pumping extra crude shortly have sent oil prices tumbling. Brent oil futures have slumped by about $2 a barrel since al-Naimi made his comments on Monday. Brent for August delivery was trading at $29.20 a barrel Wednesday, down 38 cents on Tuesday's close. OPEC delegates have said that countries lacking spare capacity, such as Venezuela, are reluctant to back Saudi's plan to release more barrels onto the market. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has established himself as a price hawk within the Arab-dominated cartel, insisted Tuesday that the world's third largest oil exporter would not be ``pressured'' or ``blackmailed'' into raising output in a bid to lower prices. Rodriguez insisted that Venezuela could increase its production at any moment if necessary and dismissed speculation that only Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates had the spare capacity to respond to an output hike. The OPEC President leaves Thursday for a prearranged tour of nine of the cartel's 10 other member countries. He said he would visit Algeria first, followed by Indonesia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Nigeria. The tour, which was planned several weeks ago, is intended to pave the way for a tour of OPEC countries by President Hugo Chavez scheduled for August ahead of an OPEC heads of state summit in Caracas in late September. 13:47 07-05-00