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.