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OPEC likely to hold oil supply steady, call for more compliance
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-09 12:54

VIENNA: OPEC ministers are likely to keep the oil output quota unchanged while calling for more compliance at their upcoming meeting.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi, whose country is top producer of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said the current oil price "is good for everybody: consumers and producers.

"The market is in good shape, very well supplied," he told reporters upon his arrival in Vienna for the OPEC meeting on Wednesday.

Crude prices have remained relatively steady at around 70 US dollars per barrel after recovering from a low of 32.4 dollars in December. Late last year, OPEC announced a record 4.2 million barrel per day production cut from September 2008 levels amid the sharp decline of fuel demand due to the economic crisis.

"I don't think now is the right time to cut production ... we think in the world economy there is still some uncertainty," Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said.

"We have to be very careful about the world economy and push towards normal growth ... we need time to see what is coming in the next few months," he explained.

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Meanwhile, OPEC ministers will focus on compliance with the output limit by the cartel members, according to the delegates.

OPEC is producing some 1 million barrels per day. This was more than the organization claims, making its promised output cut less effective on the market prices, analysts said.

OPEC is a cartel of 12 countries comprising Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

OPEC nations account for two thirds of the world's oil reserves, and, as of April 2009, 33.3 percent of the world's oil production.