OPEC may cut output ceiling at Jan 30 meet

Qatar's Attiyah says OPEC may cut output ceiling at Jan 30 meet

Dubai (Platts)--14Dec2004


OPEC may cut its 27-mil b/d crude production ceiling at an extraordinary
meeting to be held Jan 30 in Vienna, Qatari oil minister Abdullah al-Attiyah
said Tuesday. 

"We may decide to decrease the ceiling at that time," he told a news
conference in Dubai. He noted that OPEC had already decided at talks last
Friday in Cairo to remove excess production of 1-mil b/d above the official
ceiling, and would review market conditions at the Jan 30 meeting. OPEC's
official communique at the end of the Cairo conference hinted at a possible
further cut, referring to the seasonally lower demand second quarter when, it
said, "oil prices are expected to come under growing pressure." UAE oil
minister Mohammed bin Dhaen al-Hamli, who also spoke at the conference,
reiterated his view that because of inflation and the depreciation of the US
dollar, OPEC's official $22-28/bbl target band was equivalent to a range of
$30-38/bbl. OPEC's crude basket stood at $33.99/bbl Monday.

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