With world awash in crude, OPEC focuses on getting members not to sell more than their quotas
Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Naimi, whose country is OPEC's top producer and most influential member, told reporters Tuesday that crude's current prices "is good for everybody: consumers and producers."
TAREK EL-TABLAWY, AP Business Writer
VIENNA (AP) — OPEC appeared poised to hold oil production quotas unchanged Wednesday, with its ministers voicing satisfaction with current global crude prices.
Instead, the focus at the organization's meeting in Vienna was to be on persuading members not to sell more oil than their quotas permit.
Kuwait's oil minister, Sheik Ahmed Al Abullah Al Sabah, said OPEC's markets monitoring committee would suggest to the 12-country group that oil output targets be held steady at the organization's meeting Wednesday in Vienna.
The recommendation offers further indication that ministers from the bloc — supplier of roughly 35 percent of the world's crude — are turning their aim toward encouraging member discipline. Compliance with the output limits, which are designed to support prices, has been waning.
The group's current production target is just under 25 million barrels per day, but output figures excluding Iraq indicate OPEC members are pumping around 26 million barrels per day, analysts say, adding that Angola, Iran and Venezuela have been particularly lax with their quotas.
Balance of article - Los Angeles Times
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