OPEC president satisfied with fall in global crude prices: KUNA

OPEC president satisfied with fall in global crude prices: KUNA

Dubai (Platts)--21Jul2005

OPEC's Kuwaiti president Sheikh Ahmed Fahed al-Sabah has expressed
satisfaction with the fall in global crude prices and said he hoped global
crude prices stabilized, the official Kuwait News Agency reported late
Wednesday. 

Sheikh Ahmed said he hoped prices would stabilize at levels that
served the interests of producers and consumers and helped contribute to
global economic growth, KUNA reported. Speaking to reporters, he said the
issue of higher global crude and product prices was a global affair, adding
that the latest decline was a "positive start of the fall of the prices."
Sheikh Ahmed said Jul 8, the day after prices hit a record of $62.10 in New
York, he would renew talks on increasing the group's output ceiling by 500,000
b/d for a second time since Jul 1. When asked about OPEC's ability to control
global crude prices, Sheikh Ahmed pointed to comments by US Energy Secretary
Samuel Bodman, saying that global prices related to markets and refining.

Sheikh Ahmed and Bodman were expected to meet in Washington at the end of
June, but the meeting was canceled because of conflicting schedules. The OPEC
president's comments came the same day as Indonesia's OPEC governor Maizar
Rahman said the cartel did not need to boost oil output for now because crude
prices have fallen below $60/bbl. "OPEC will produce at the current volume for
now," Rahman told Platts. "OPEC will not increase production because we think
the oil price is stable at less than $60/bbl." OPEC, which is pumping oil
close to the limit of capacity at more than 30-mil b/d to meet rising demand,
has blamed rising prices on issues outside its control such as a lack of
refining capacity, rather than a shortage of crude. The comments from the
Indonesian official come on the heels of similar remarks by Iran's OPEC
governor, Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, to Platts Tuesday.

Read more about OPEC in Platts Guide
http://www.platts.com/Oil/Resources/News%20Features/opec/index.xml

Please visit: www.platts.com

Their coverage of energy matters is extensive!!.