OPEC expects oil prices to fall to $30 per barrel<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
\nexpects to see a fall in global oil prices to as much as US$30
\nper barrel, its president Purnomo Yusgiantoro said here on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
"Oil prices have retreated, but we want them to fall to about
\n$30 per barrel. That would be good enough," said Purnomo, who is
\nalso the Indonesian minister of energy and mineral resources.<\/p>\n
He said OPEC would first take an inventory of its spare oil
\ncapacity before making any decision on a possible increase in its
\nofficial output ceiling at the cartel's meeting on Sept. 14 in
\nVienna, Austria.<\/p>\n
"That's part of the agenda. If we consider that (raising
\noutput) needs to be done, we'll take an inventory on how much
\nspare capacity we have from each member of OPEC, so we can raise
\nOPEC quotas," said Purnomo, ruling out the possibility of moving
\nthe meeting up to an earlier date.<\/p>\n
He previously said that, if needed, OPEC would be ready to
\nincrease production by between 1 million and 1.5 million barrel
\nper day (bpd).<\/p>\n
Purnomo said members of OPEC were producing more oil than the
\nofficial quota in an effort to cool down an overheated market.
\nCurrently, the cartel's oil production reaches 30 million bpd,
\nconsisting of a quota of 26 million, two million from Iraq, and
\ntwo million in overproduction.<\/p>\n
OPEC lifted its official output limit by 500,000 bpd to 26
\nmillion bpd on Aug. 1.<\/p>\n
Purnomo also said the cartel would consult non-OPEC oil
\nproducers about ways to bring down crude prices.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, world oil prices experienced another hiccup on
\nThursday following news of multiple attacks on a number of
\npipelines in Iraq.<\/p>\n
Oil prices rose slightly due to technical factors and reports
\nthat eight oil pipelines in southern Iraq were sabotaged in an
\novernight explosion, which traders said contributed to price
\nrises.<\/p>\n
U.S. light crude for October delivery struck US$44.73 per
\nbarrel after declining by $1.74 on Wednesday. Meanwhile, London's
\nBrent crude, also for October delivery, tipped $41 after plunging
\n$1.64 the day before.<\/p>\n
The prices, however, remain far below last Friday's all-time
\nhigh of $49.40 per barrel.<\/p>\n
Oil prices significantly declined on Wednesday following a
\nmodest improvement in the supply outlook, which encouraged
\nspeculators to bank their profits.<\/p>\n
Global oil prices have increased by more than 30 percent this
\nyear on worries over supply disruptions and continuing strong
\ndemand from energy-hungry countries, such as the U.S. and China.<\/p>",
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