MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

OPEC: no output increase decision until December

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) ruled out an output increase in the coming summit and said that the surge in global fuel prices can not be tracked to shortage of oil in the market and certainly not because of the fast-growing Indian and Chinese economies.

Stating that there is enough oil in the market, OPEC secretary-general Abdalla Salem El-Badri said, "OPEC is neither in favor of high oil prices, nor in favor of low oil prices. We would like to see a stable market." "At this time, frankly, we don't see that we need to add additional oil" Abdalla Salem el-Badri told a packed room of reporters in Riyadh ahead of the third-ever OPEC Summit set for this weekend. Mr. el-Badri, who is also oil minister in Libya, added that the final decision will be up to OPEC's oil ministers when they gather in Abu Dhabi on December 5 but his words frustrated hopes that more oil will be coming soon. The day before Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia's oil minister had suggested that an increase at the December meeting was a possibility. U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman on Tuesday said he had asked OPEC to quickly agree to tackle what he considers inadequate global supplies. OPEC leaders have said they will not make decisions on price or production when 13 heads of state meet in Riyadh over the weekend. Regarding the IEA forecasts, Mr. el-Badri gently but firmly chided the organization representing industrialized nations, saying the IEA constantly changes its forecasts and on prices he said it is important to remember the average rate this year is 70 US dollars a barrel. "We're still far away from $100," Mr. el-Badri said.