Demand for OPEC oil expected to reach 25.56m bpd

Demand for OPEC oil expected to reach 25.56m bpd

VIENNA (Reuter): OPEC's Economic Commission Board (ECB) of technical experts sees 1996 demand for OPEC oil at between 25 million and 25.56 million barrels per day (bpd), an OPEC delegate said on Saturday.

The ECB came to its conclusion after a long and "contentious" four-day meeting, during which delegates were divided on the demand picture, the source said.

The ECB, made up of senior delegates from OPEC's 12 members, will present its forecast in a report to OPEC ministers when they meet on Wednesday to set production levels for the rest of 1996.

The ECB was unable to come up with a consensus on an outright forecast for demand for OPEC oil since the individuals forecasts varied "sharply," the delegate said.

He said Iran insisted that the demand for OPEC oil would only average 25 million bpd in 1996 while OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia and fellow Gulf members Kuwait and the UAE said demand for OPEC oil would average 26 million bpd.

"We were unable to draw a conclusion and set a range because there was a wide range of opinions. We were able to convince those at the high end to come down but Iran insisted that demand would only be 25 million," he said.

At its last ministerial conference in November, OPEC froze its production ceiling at 24.52 million bpd. But independent monitors, including Reuters, put OPEC wellhead production around 26 million bpd because of quota violations by several members.

Meanwhile, OPEC's president, Ammar Makhloufi, said in an interview on Saturday that OPEC states must quickly cut back their excess oil production to make room for new Iraqi exports or face a "dangerous crisis."

"OPEC must take a very quick decision taking into account the additional amounts of Iraqi oil. We must not delay," Makhloufi, who is the Algerian oil minister, told the Arab daily Al-Hayat.

Makhloufi said the introduction of Iraqi oil under a UN oil- for-food deal without a reduction elsewhere in OPEC production would be "very bad," adding: "The oil ministers must realize there is a dangerous crisis and not wait for it to happed before a decision."

"All members are asked to be reasonable and find the best way to include the Iraqi production," he said ahead of the OPEC ministerial meeting.

"The countries which are going over their quota must cut back their excess at least partially," he said.