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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Linkdog who wrote (42678)	4/19/1999 6:17:00 PM
From: Captain James T. Kirk	Respond to of 95453

OPEC cuts begin to have impact on demand; Iran appears to be complying April 19, 1999: 12:58 p.m. ET LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices hit a 15-month peak, and analysts said more gains were possible as the full impact of OPEC supply curbs was felt. Bellwether U.K. Brent blend futures for June traded 38 cents firmer at $16.07 a barrel by late afternoon in London -- a price not seen since January of last year. In New York light sweet crude for June delivery was trading up 38 cents at $17.72 per barrel by midday. London's Center for Global Energy Studies (CGES) forecast that Brent would rise further to average $18 a barrel in the fourth quarter of this year assuming reasonable compliance by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries with output limits agreed to in March. "A reasonable compliance level of 77 percent by June, with all members going some way towards meeting their commitments, would put oil prices on a sustainable upward path," said the CGES in a monthly report. That level of OPEC adherence would reduce the global oil stockpile by 1.1 million barrels a day (bpd) in 1999, cutting forward stock-cover in the industrialized nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) by seven days to 54 days. Dealers said speculative purchases by institutional investment funds had fueled Friday's oil price rise. The gains were supported by solid evidence on the market that OPEC producers were implementing a large portion of the 1.7 million bpd in output cuts they pledged in March. The cuts come on top of about 2.2 million barrels daily of reductions OPEC made last year. Concern over Iran eases Dealers were encouraged by Iran's confirmation to its leading customers in Japan and South Korea of a 12 percent reduction in May supplies, suggesting Tehran was moving to meet its new 264,000 bpd output cut. There had been some doubts about how strictly Iran would comply with its contribution to OPEC's new supply limits. Its European customers on Monday were still waiting for word on May deliveries. Dealers said lower North Sea loadings for May also had helped sustain higher prices. Scheduled May liftings from eight crude systems in British and Norwegian waters were scheduled to lift 3.84 million bpd compared to 4.14 million in April, according to traders.