OPEC chief considers cartel's price corridor to be fair

At present the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries is worried about the possible low oil prices, OPEC Secretary General Alvaro Silva Calderon announced at the 3rd All-Russian Oil and Gas Week on Tuesday.

"The fact is that the market has enough oil and we forecast a sufficient amount of oil for the next year," he pointed out.

"At present oil prices are not too high, they lie within our price corridor, $22-28 per barrel. When oil prices are within the corridor, we consider them fair," Calderon emphasised.

Earlier Russian Energy Minister Igor Yusufov said it was necessary to increase oil production due to high oil prices on the world market. When commenting on his statement, the OPEC head said there were no fundamental reasons that would explain high oil prices.

"The market is provided with oil, but there are some factors that influence the growing oil prices and are beyond OPEC's control," he pointed out.

Calderon did not give any definite answer to the question whether OPEC would ask Russia to cut or increase its export volumes. At the same time, he underlined the need to ensure that countries outside OPEC had access to the world market.