OPEC, China agree to regular meetings
OPEC, China agree to regular meetings
Associated Press, Beijing
OPEC's president said that the group had very successful meetings with Chinese officials during its first-ever official trip to China, the world's fastest-growing energy consumer.
Both sides agreed to hold regular future dialogues, said Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
He said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries believes China's demand is now "stable" and "reasonable," although he said he was given no specific demand figures from China.
Al-Sabah said OPEC projects Chinese demand in 2006 to grow by 350,000 barrels a day.
The two sides agreed to begin holding regular technical and ministerial meetings to discuss production, demand and fair pricing.
OPEC, along with much of the oil industry, had largely underestimated the strength of China's demand growth in the past two years.
Chinese demand has been a major factor behind rising oil prices, especially in 2004 and somewhat in 2005.
Al-Sabah, who is also Kuwait's oil minister, said he hoped to have a final deal by March between Kuwait and state-owned oil company PetroChina Co. Ltd. to build a refinery in the southern city of Guangzhou.
The US$3 billion-US$4 billion project would aim for an output of 350,000 barrels a day, he said.
Kuwait is also looking at a second big refinery project in China, Al-Sabah said, but gave no details.
He said Kuwait might take a strategic stake in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, but again gave no specifics.
Kuwait, which has the world's fourth-largest oil reserves, wants to expand its presence in China. State-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp. established a representative office in Beijing in March.
As head of the OPEC delegation, Al-Sabah met with Ma Kai, chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission.
Al-Sabah arrived in Beijing on Thursday and planned to visit Guangzhou before heading to Russia.
Beijing releases production and trade statistics each month, but not inventory data.
China is the world's second-biggest consumer of oil and third- biggest importer.