OPEC chief Sudjana to visit Arab state
OPEC chief Sudjana to visit Arab state
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Mines and Energy I.B. Sudjana will
start an OPEC mission on Sunday with visits planned to Saudi
Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to get input on
Gabon's request to quit the petroleum organization.
"In my first tour as the new president of the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries, I will discuss the development of
the world's oil market and the membership of the organization,"
Sudjana told reporters after meeting with Minister of
Cooperatives and Small Enterprises Subiakto Tjakrawerdaya on
Wednesday.
He said he expected that the three Arabian countries will
disclose their views on Gabon, as well as the developments in the
oil market. The three countries have a combined ceiling of 10.539
million barrels per day in OPEC.
Sudjana said discussion of Gabon's proposal will be finalized
at the organization's meeting in Geneva by the middle of this
year.
He said that Gabon, which has a production ceiling of 287,000
barrels per day in OPEC, has sent the 12-member organization a
letter describing its current economic situation and its
intention to withdraw from OPEC membership as a result of its
financial constraints.
"Its fund limitation for the required contribution to the
organization seems to be the main reason for Gabon wanting to
leave OPEC," he said.
Gabon, with a population of 1.2 million, became an associate
member of OPEC in 1973 and a full member in 1975. It has proven
oil reserves of 1.8 billion barrels.
"We will try to find the best way to settle the Gabon matter
in order to maintain the good performance of the organization,"
Sudjana said.
Reuters reported yesterday that Gabon's Minister of Mines,
Energy and Water Resources, Paul Toungui, denied suggestions that
his country has withdrawn from OPEC, saying that any withdrawal
would depend on the response from other member states to its
request for a cut in its contribution to the organization.
Last November, OPEC rolled over its production ceiling of
24.52 million barrels per day for the whole of 1995 with an
option to review the rollover by the middle of this year. (fhp)