Saudis vow go-slow approach on increasing oil production
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Saturday, March 11, 2000
LONDON -- Saudi Arabia plans to press for a gradual rise in oil
production during the March 27 meeting of OPEC oil ministers.
Fresh from an agreement with Iran, Saudi leaders do not intend to
advocate an immediate or dramatic increase in oil production. They said such
a move could plunge oil prices and wipe out the gains of the year-long price
rise that resulted from a production cut.
"Just as a sudden fall in prices is not in the interest of consumers, so
a sudden increase is not in the interest of producers,"
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz said. "Any shift in the
supply-demand balance will not be in the interest of either the producers or
consumers."
In an interview with the Saudi news agency on Thursday, Abdullah termed
the crude oil market as being marked by imbalance. But he stressed that
Riyad will not confront opponents of an oil output increase.
Instead, he called for coordination and consultation to ensure OPEC
unity. "We will work, through coordinated action, just as we did in the
past, to restore stability to the market in a way that safeguards the
interests of exporting countries, and does not harm the global economy," he
said.
On Wednesday, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to a gradual increase in oil
production. Analysts said OPEC is likely to agree to a one million barrel
per day increase, about half of what the United States has requested.
One compromise, the analysts said, would be an oil output increase of
one million barrels per day starting from April 1, with future increases set
to market conditions. The onset of summer is expected to lead to a drop in
consumption and prices.
Saturday, March 11, 2000
Subscribe to World Tribune.com's Daily Headline Alert
|