MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

OPEC tries to coordinate oil policy with Russia

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, (OPEC), president Ahmed al Fahd al Sabah, currently visiting Moscow tried Monday to convince Russia to a closer oil policy coordination.

"We need to coordinate efforts with your country to preserve the oil market stability", said Ahmed who is also Kuwait's Energy ministry in an interview published Monday in the Russian daily Vremia Novostei.

OPEC's president met in Moscow with Foreign Affairs minister Serguei Lavrov, Energy minister Viktor Jristenko and the head of the Federal Energy Agency Serguei Oganessian.

Russia in the world's major independent oil producer but does not belong to OPEC and for the first time will be presiding in 2006 the G-8 which is made up of the Group of Seven most industrialized countries plus Moscow.

OPEC is also concerned that Russia, already the world' second producer behind Saudi Arabia, has plans to keep expanding its extraction capacity.

Mr. Ahmed said that the world market is ready to consume growing volumes of fuel and Russia "occupies the second place behind Saudi Arabia in oil extraction with a daily production of nine million barrels".

"Even if in 20 years time Russia produces, as it has planned, over 11 million bpd, the volume will be absorbed by the market", added OPEC's president. Mr. Ahmed described Russia's coming presidency next January 1 of the G-8 as a "historic event". "It's the first time in that group's history that the chair will be occupied by a hydrocarbons producing country. We know Russia will be able to explain the stance of oil producing countries to consumer countries".

Following the meeting with the OPEC president Russian Minister of Industry Christenko said Moscow will take advantage of the G-8 presidency to establish a world energy dialogue between large producers and consumers.

"Emerging countries which are big consumers such as Brazil, India and China should also be represented in the dialogue", said Mr. Christenko.

Ahmed Fahd al-Sabah anticipated in Moscow that once the winter in the northern hemisphere is over, OPEC contemplates reducing current supply by two million bpd from the current 27.8 million bpd.

A week ago in a visit to Beijing the OPEC president also warned that supply in the second quarter of 2006 will be contracted "if demand and prices drop". OPEC supplies 40% of world oil demand.