OPEC says ready to act to correct any market imbalance

OPEC says ready to act to correct any market imbalance

London (Platts)--10Aug2006

OPEC said Thursday it was ready to act to correct "any imbalance" in
world oil markets resulting from the partial closure of BP's 400,000 b/d
Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska, but added that it was confident that global
oil markets were adequately supplied.

The oil cartel's Vienna secretariat noted in a statement that the loss of
400,000 b/d of Prudhoe Bay output had "proved to be the latest in a series of
events that has pushed oil prices to successive record levels."

"As always in these situations, OPEC stands ready to do all in its power
to correct any imbalance in the market," the statement said, adding that at
the group's June 1 meeting in Caracas ministers had agreed that OPEC president
Edmund Daukoru of Nigeria "would consider convening an extraordinary meeting
ahead of the next regular OPEC conference in September, should market
conditions so warrant."

"The fact is that some of OPEC's producers can bring additional supplies
to the market very quickly, if such action is deemed necessary, subject of
course to adequacy of refining capacity," the statement continued, noting that
OPEC had boosted its oil output by some 4.5 million b/d since 2002 to ensure
oil markets remained well supplied. However, it said, "for the time being, the
organization remains confident that the world is still adequately supplied
with oil and that no shortage will occur. In addition, commercial stocks,
especially of crude oil, are more than comfortable in terms of absolute levels
of forward cover."

In light of the latest development, the statement concluded, "OPEC will
continue to carefully monitor the situation and take all measures necessary to
secure oil market stability and maintain crude prices at reasonable levels
through the provision of additional supplies, as necessary."

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