OPEC agrees cut in physical supply, no ceiling change: delegate

OPEC agrees cut in physical supply, no ceiling change: delegate

Cairo (Platts)--10Dec2004


OPEC ministers meeting in Cairo have agreed to rein in some 1-mil b/d of crude
supply and bring production back in line with their self-imposed ten-member
output ceiling of 27-mil b/d, an OPEC delegate said Friday. 

Ministers are also discussing a proposal to meet again Jan 31 in Vienna to review

output levels, although the date has not been finalized yet, the delegate said.

The delegate was talking after ministers held informal discussions focusing on

a move to enforce discipline with current output quotas and remove excess supply

from the market. The decision is due to be rubber-stamped by OPEC's formal
ministerial conference later Friday. Worried by the recent fall in world crude
prices, OPEC ministers gave near-unanimous support ahead of the meeting to a
move to rein in excess production above nominal quotas and leave the ceiling
unchanged for the time being. A Platts survey estimated output by the 10 OPEC
members bound by quotas at 28.02-mil b/d in November, more than 1-mil b/d
above official limits.

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