OPEC leaders to meet in Doha on oil market

OPEC leaders to meet in Doha on oil market

VIENNA: The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is to hold "informal" meetings in Doha this weekend on oil prices and production levels, an OPEC source said at the organization's headquarters in Vienna.

OPEC president Rilwanu Lukman of Nigeria, secretary general Alvaro Silva Calderon of Venezuela, and petroleum ministers Chakib Khelil of Algeria and Obeid Al-Nasseri of the United Arab Emirates would be meeting Saturday and Sunday on the sidelines of a gas conference in Doha, the source said.

"They will probably discuss the current state of the market even if OPEC does not intend to increase production" despite the rise in the price of oil over the last few weeks, the source said.

Prices have risen due to concerns over oil shortages if the United States attacks Iraq, experts said.

The 11 members of OPEC dominate global oil production and has an important influence on the world's oil prices. -- AFP