11/12/2010
SA Oil Minister Al-Naimi Says No Need for OPEC Output Increase
Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al- Naimi said there is no need for an oil production increase at a meeting tomorrow of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
OPEC, which supplies about 40 percent of the world’s oil, hasn’t changed quotas since late 2008, when it announced the biggest-ever reduction in output as global demand collapsed.
Crude oil rose 3.3 percent last month on the New York Mercantile Exchange and exceeded $90 a barrel on Dec. 7 for the first time in more than two years.
Oil may reach $100 a barrel next year as demand from Europe and the U.S. picks up, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst Jeffrey Currie said last month.
“Demand is up, supply is up,” said al-Naimi, whose country is OPEC’s biggest producer. Asked if $100 a barrel for oil would be acceptable to producers and consumers, he said, “What else do you have?”
Angolan Oil Minister Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos said earlier today that there’s no reason for OPEC to change production.
“The situation is stable right now,” and oil at $90 a barrel makes up for a weak dollar, he said.
Crude oil for January delivery declined 58 cents to $87.79 a barrel today in New York, the lowest settlement since Dec. 1. Futures dropped 1.6 percent this week and are up 24 percent from a year ago.
The 12 members of OPEC are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Iraq is exempt from the quota system.
