Cape Town (Platts)--9May2008

OPEC could schedule an emergency meeting before the next policy-setting
gathering in September to try to prevent a super-spike in global oil prices,
Libya's top oil official said Friday.

"September is four months away, so yes we can meet at anytime. The most
important thing we would like to see is a more stable market. Therefore, Libya
will support and attend any meeting at any time called by any country to see
if we can do anything," Shokri Ghanem, the head of Libya's National Oil
Corporation, told Platts by telephone from Tripoli.

Ghanem also said oil prices, which hit a record high of $125.10/barrel
for US light sweet crude oil futures, could rise further regardless of supply.
"I think the price will go higher because it is not OPEC, it is the
uncertainty of the fundamentals, the geopolitics and the speculation, all
these factors are driving it. Once again, what can OPEC do? But if we need to
meet to help cool prices, then we will meet," he said.

Oil prices surged Thursday after OPEC secretary general Abdalla el-Badri
said that there was "clearly" no shortage of crude oil, rebuffing requests
from the US for more oil to curb runaway prices.

Badri said oil prices had been driven mainly by "financial market
developments and the increased flow of speculative funds into oil futures."
The 13-member OPEC is currently pumping 32 million b/d. The next
scheduled ministerial meeting is due to be held in Vienna September 9.
--Jacinta Moran, jacinta_moran@platts.com