Saudis raise oil production to curb prices
According to the Angolan oil minister, some members of OPEC will resist the demand of increase by Saudi Arabia in OPEC’s oil output because members want to review the production levels.
Members like Ecuador, Venezuela and Angola said that oil supplied in oil markets is good enough and they found no reason to increase the production.
OPEC has 12 members and all the members began meeting today in Vienna at 10:30 a. m. local time. Angolan Oil Minister Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos told reporters yesterday in the Austrian capital that many members are asking for rise in production.
A Gulf delegate said yesterday on the matter of anonymity because he does not have the authority to speak on the issue, he mentioned that Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will raise its official ceiling on output for the first time since 2008 and this organization supplies 40% of the world’s crude.
Saudi Arabia being the largest producer in the list of OPEC members decided to add 1.5 million barrels a day to compensate the supply loss from Libya and also to meet growth in demand later this year.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, U. S. crude for July delivery dropped as much as 80 cents to $98.29 a barrel in electronic trading. In last 12 months, Prices have gained 37%. OPEC in its meeting will most probably increase its target by as much as 1.5 million barrels a day said by Michael Wittner, the head of oil-market research at Societe Generale SA in New York.
