London (Platts)--11Sep2007

OPEC ministers meeting in Vienna Tuesday were discussing whether
they should increase crude output as a gesture to consumer nations feeling the
pinch of high oil prices.

     Although some ministers continued to insist earlier Tuesday that there
was no shortage of crude and therefore no need for OPEC to raise its formal
output limits, Iran said said a consensus was emerging around a proposal for a
500,000 b/d increase.

     While OPEC powerhouse Saudi Arabia has not claimed ownership of the
proposal, a report late last Friday from Washington-based analysts PFC Energy
said Saudi sources had been signalling that OPEC might need to consider a
production hike of between 500,000 b/d and 1 million b/d. Saudi officials have
not commented publicly on the PFC report.

     It was not clear ahead of the talks how a 500,000 b/d increase, which
would reverse a 500,000 b/d cut implemented in February as the second tranch
of a total 1.7 million b/d cut agreed late last year, would be structured if
OPEC did decide to raise output.

     Actual OPEC production, estimated by Platts at 26.79 million b/d in
August for the ten members bound by output pacts, is almost a million barrels
per day higher than the 25.8 million b/d target which has been in effect since
February. A 500,000 b/d increase could translate to no new barrels coming onto
the market.

     US light crude benchmark WTI traded as high as $78.32/barrel earlier
Tuesday, within 45 cents of the $78.77/b all-time high reached last month, but
at 1108 GMT was down at $77.34/b.