OPEC Considers Rise in Oil Output

OPEC members met in Vienna today to consider a rise in oil output, prompted by recent price hikes and US economic instability.

Proposed by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, discussions to add 500,000 barrels per day of oil are continuing.

Venezuela, Algeria and Libya have previously said they were not in support of increasing supplies.

Opening the 145th Meeting of the OPEC Conference, HE Mohamed Bin Dhaen Al Hamli, president of the conference and Minister of Energy of the United Arab Emirates says present market levels do not reflect the shortage of crude, adding:

"We shall carefully review the market outlook at today's meeting, especially for the coming months, as the Northern Hemisphere winter approaches. This will include examining the recent evolution of market fundamentals, prices and volatility, assessing the key drivers and analysing OPEC's latest projections for the rest of 2007 and for 2008."

"We shall also be assessing the turbulence in international financial markets, as this may have an impact on the world economic growth and, consequently, on oil demand", he adds.

By Ozge Ibrahim