OPEC to maintain

OPEC to maintain
current output

VIENNA (AFP): OPEC is unlikely to increase oil output next
month despite a resurgence of prices, but could hold another
special meeting to review the situation if they continue to soar,
its head said on Wednesday.

In an interview, OPEC Secretary General Ali Rodriguez declined
completely to rule out a production increase at the June 5
meeting, but noted that OPEC had a price-band mechanism which
automatically increased output if prices stayed high.

"I believe that we will maintain the present level of
production" at the ministerial meeting of the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, he said.

Asked where a production increase was nevertheless possible
amid a rise of prices which have approached 30 dollars a barrel
in recent days, he said: "It's ... a possibility, but we have to
wait for the conference."

Rodriguez insisted that OPEC's price-band mechanism, aimed at
keeping crude prices within a range of 22-28 dollars, would also
be triggered if necessary.

"If the price remains above US$28 for 20 days immediately the
price mechanism is triggered," he said, referring to the
mechanism which increases production by 500,000 barrels per day
(bpd) if OPEC's benchmark price stays above 28 dollars for 20
working days, or below 22 dollars for 10 days.