OPEC has no plans to adopt euro for crude sales

OPEC has no plans to adopt euro for crude sales: Purnomo

Jakarta (Platts)--24Nov2004


OPEC has no plans to ask buyers to pay for its crude in euros as a result of
continuing weakness of the US dollar, the cartel's president and Indonesian
oil minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said Wednesday. The euro rose above 1.31
dollars on Tuesday for the first time as the US currency continued its retreat
on concerns about imbalances in the American economy. The single European
currency rose to as high as 1.3102 dollars in late European trading Tuesday,
exceeding a previous record of 1.3092 dollars reached just hours earlier.
Separately, asked if OPEC was likely to cut its production ceiling at its Dec
10 meeting in Cairo, Purnomo said: "I don't know yet because OPEC members
haven't been in contact with each other [to discuss production policy ahead of
the meeting]." OPEC more than reversed a 1-mil b/d cutback in its production
ceiling imposed early this year by raising the ceiling by 3.5-mil b/d over
three increments effected Jul 1, Aug 1 and Nov 1, in continuing efforts to
cool down historic high oil prices.

OPEC's ceiling for the ten members bound by quotas [excluding Iraq] is 27-mil
b/d effective Nov 1. The cartel pumped some 28.1-mil b/d in October against a
ceiling of 26-mil b/d, according to a Platts survey. Including Iraq, the
production was 30.3-mil b/d. US benchmark crude WTI was trading around
$48.88/bbl in Asia Wednesday, caught in see-saw moves since slipping from
all-time highs of $55/bbl hit in late October.

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