'OPEC should maintain quotas'

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Monday that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), of which Indonesia is a member, should not change its quotas during an upcoming meeting on Jan. 30 in Vienna.

Purnomo, also the OPEC chairman, underlined that there were many events around the globe that could affect crude oil prices, including the election in Iraq, and changes in supply and demand in the coming northern spring.

"We have to anticipate these coming events. We should have a further meeting before deciding on any quota cuts," he said.

The OPEC members meeting is being held to review its oil output ceiling policy in the light of volatile oil prices.

During its December meeting, the oil cartel agreed to downsize its production by one million barrels per day starting Jan. 1 to prevent oil prices from falling.

On a separate occasion, Purnomo predicted that oil prices might decline in the second quarter due to possible falling demand.

"We hope that less demand in the second quarter will bring prices down," he said.

U.S. light crude rose 64 cents to US$49.17 per barrel on Monday.

"There are also worries that the election in Iraq may not go as planned, and could affect oil supplies from that country," Purnomo said.

Iraq produces some 42.8 million barrels of oil per day, with almost half of it being exported. -- JP