OPEC to cut crude oil quotas at conference in Qatar

At the extraordinary 125th conference of the OPEC member states due on June 10th-11th in the capital of Qatar, Doha, the members will adopt a decision to cut quotas for production and export of crude oil, said Algerian Energy and Mining Minister Chekib Khalil.

He did not specify the volume of the reduction, but emphasised that the OPEC's decision would be based on the worked out oil price corridor of $22-28 per barrel. This price "will so far remain unchanged despite the recent sharp falls of the US dollar's exchange rate against the euro and other hard currencies," he said.

Experts believe that at the OPEC conference in Doha the ministers will be able to agree on 2-million barrel cuts of oil quotas, but from July 1st only.

"The war in Iraq, as well as the acts of terrorism in Saudi Arabia and Morocco affected the situation on world energy markets and oil prices. These events created an atmosphere of uncertainty, even at world exchanges," the Algerian minister pointed out.

At their last meeting on April 24th the OPEC members decided to increase oil production from June 1st from 24.5 to 25.4 million barrels daily, which, however, was presented as "cuts of production" from the actual 27.4 million barrels daily /exceeding the official OPEC quotas by 2.9 million barrels/.