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To: waverider who wrote (21386)	5/4/1998 8:24:00 PM
From: pz	Respond to of 95453

NEW YORK, May 4 (Reuters) - Crude oil prices slipped Monday, giving back some gains made Friday, as traders expressed doubts that three key producers would meet soon to make further production cuts. Traders were not moved by a statement by Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi that he was to meet with his Venezuelan and Mexican counterparts this week to discuss additional cuts. "For the moment, the market is treating this as just talk," a trader said. But another trader said al-Naimi's comment was "somewhat supportive," in that it kept crude futures in trading range rather than drop to much lower levels." June crude settled at $15.95 a barrel, off 18 cents, rising from $15.75, the day's low. The contract hit a high of $16.04 early, but quickly pulled back. Refined products sustained losses. June heating oil settled at 45.42 cents a gallon, down 0.36 cent while gasoline ended at 54.04 cents a gallon, off 0.25 cent. The day's trade was a pull-back from Friday, when crude prices surged on speculation that a meeting was afoot last weekend between oil chiefs of Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Mexico. Traders were disappointed, however, that no such meeting took place, roiling the crude and refined products markets. Just after the market closed Monday, Mexico's energy ministry said Minister Luis Tellez had no plans to meet with Venezuelan Oil Minister Erwin Arrieta or al-Naimi. "There is no such meeting planned," a ministry spokesman said on news from Washington that al-Naimi, responding to reporters' queries, said he would meet this week with the two other ministers. Al-Naimi was in the U.S. capital on a scheduled meeting with Energy Secretary Federico Pena Monday. On Thursday, he was in Houston to attend a scheduled board meeting of Saudi Aramco. Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Mexico were the chief architects of the Riyadh agreement in March that called for the reduction of OPEC and non-OPEC oil production by about 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd). "The key obviously is that producers want to get some price recovery," said Chevron analyst Pat Hughes. But he said the question is, would producers want to make a cut right now even if they have not ascertained whether the March agreement had succeeded or not? "There is where the uncertainty is," Hughes said, adding that producers are under pressure to push prices up due to the big drop in revenues they have sustained because of low oil prices. A recent OPEC estimate shows that the 11-member group's total first quarter revenues were some $8 billion lower than in the same period of 1997. "It's hard to tell what OPEC will do," Hughes said. He added he was surprised at the latest stance of Saudi Arabia, the OPEC kingpin which he said usually adopted a "wait-and-see" attitude on issues affecting production. The March 22 Riyadh agreement, confirmed on March 31 at a meeting of OPEC in Vienna, was effective April 1 and most analysts say the first reading of whether the participants stuck to their pledged output cuts would be early this month. The next regular OPEC meeting is scheduled for June 24, but Venezuela last week said a further cut of 500,000 bpd was needed to shore up oil prices and that any further cuts could come before the meeting. A number of OPEC ministers have said they will back any action to further cut output.

To: waverider who wrote (21386)	5/4/1998 8:26:00 PM
From: pz	Respond to of 95453

KUWAIT, May 4 (Reuters) - Kuwait said on Monday it would support a further OPEC oil output cut to help boost world oil prices. "We have supported and will support a further cut," first deputy prime minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah told Reuters after he chaired a meeting by Kuwait's highest oil decision-making body, the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC). Sheikh Sabah, who heads the SPC, said by telephone: "Kuwait will not be the obstacle in (OPEC) cutting production." Kuwait took a 125,000 barrel per day (bpd) cut from the start of April as part of OPEC's accord to trim production by a total 1.245 million bpd with additional cuts to come from non-OPEC producers for a total reduction of 1.5 million bpd. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries member Kuwait controls about 10 percent of the world's oil reserves. It currently produces slightly more than two million bpd. Sheikh Sabah said the SPC also discussed during Monday's meeting the possibility of raising domestic fuel prices -- a step which would require further study before presenting it to the cabinet for approval. Roadside stations sell a litre of petrol for 40 fils for regular and 50 fils for premium (13-16 U.S. cents). Kuwait has yet to introduce unleaded petrol in the local market. There are 1,000 fils to the dinar. When asked if the SPC was leaning toward recommending a rise in fuel prices, Sheikh Sabah said: "It could be...We want our prices to be more or less like the price levels in other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. The issue was discussed on Monday and will be decided upon at a later date after further studies." The minister later told the official Kuwait news agency (KUNA) that higher prices could be introduced in four months time, raising the price for regular and premium petrol by 20 fils per litre to 60 fils and 70 fils respectively. He said the SPC's recommendation for higher petrol prices would be soon presented to the cabinet. Oil Minister Sheikh Saud Nasser al-Sabah told KUNA that unleaded petrol would be marketed in Kuwait in four months time and would be initially sold cheaper than leaded fuel to promote its use. State-owned Kuwait National Petroleum Co (KNPC) runs some 90 roadside petrol stations in Kuwait, but the government has announced plans to privatize some 30 of them. Sheikh Sabah told Reuters that if a decision was taken to raise domestic fuel prices, it would not require parliament's approval. The government has been considering ways to increase revenue after the recent fall in world oil prices. Parliament had earlier passed a law obliging the government to seek its approval before raising rates for basic services like water, power and telecommunications but that does not include domestic fuel prices, MPs told Reuters. Parliament has been opposed to any measures which place a burden on Kuwaiti citizens -- some 35 percent of a total population of about 2.2 million. ($1 = 0.3054 dinar)