OPEC Maintains Current Oil Quotas at Quito Meeting, Group President Says
OPEC President Wilson Pastor
Vladimir Weiss/Bloomberg
Ecuador Energy and Mines Minister and OPEC President Wilson Pastor, seen here, said OPEC decided to keep production quotas unchanged following its meeting in Vienna today.
Ecuador Energy and Mines Minister and OPEC President Wilson Pastor, seen here, said OPEC decided to keep production quotas unchanged following its meeting in Vienna today. Photographer: Vladimir Weiss/Bloomberg
Ali al-Naimi, minister of petroleum and mineral resources
Gustavo Graf/Bloomberg
Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia's minister of petroleum and mineral resources, leaves a meeting during the International Energy Forum in Cancun, on March 29, 2010.
Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia's minister of petroleum and mineral resources, leaves a meeting during the International Energy Forum in Cancun, on March 29, 2010. Photographer: Gustavo Graf/Bloomberg
OPEC maintained current oil production quotas at its meeting today in Quito, Ecuador, as member nations consider the global recovery strong enough to withstand price gains.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which accounts for 40 percent of global supply, maintained the quota of 24.845 million barrels a day for 11 of its members, which hasn’t changed since it was agreed in December 2008.
OPEC President Wilson Pastor told reporters the group left quotas unchanged after ministers held a closed-door meeting that lasted more than 90 minutes. The decision was widely expected and four nations didn’t send oil ministers to the conference.
Earlier today, Saudi Arabia Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters that oil supply and demand are in balance and that “$70 to $80 is a good price.” He declined to comment on current prices.
Crude futures settled yesterday at $87.79 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Venezuelan Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said after the meeting that $100 a barrel is a “fair” price and he expects that level to be reached next year.
OPEC’s 12 members are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Iraq is exempt from the quota system.
OPEC’s next scheduled meeting is in June next year, at its Vienna headquarters.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ayesha Daya in Quito at adaya1@bloomberg.net Fred Pals in Quito at fpals@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss at sev@bloomberg.net
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