OPEC members to continue oil production cut

September 16th, 2009 Total sees oil production rebound in 2010PARIS — Total SA expects its oil production to rebound in 2010 after cuts by OPEC and falling demand caused by the global recession weighed on its output this year, the company said Wednesday. The forecast was included in slides on the French oil giant's Web site ahead of a presentation to analysts later in the day.

September 9th, 2009 VIENNA - Delegates indicated the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would keep present output quotas and not cut production, as they prepared for a late-night meeting of their oil ministers Wednesday. Analysts said they also expected such an outcome, with the Frankfurt-based Commerzbank writing in a report that "a change of production quotas would be very surprising and not particularly credible".

September 9th, 2009 OPEC committee recommends no oil production cutVIENNA — OPEC appeared poised to hold oil production quotas unchanged Wednesday, with its ministers voicing satisfaction with current global crude prices. Instead, the focus at the organization's meeting in Vienna was to be on persuading members not to sell more oil than their quotas permit.

September 9th, 2009 VIENNA - The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries decided Wednesday to leave its current production levels unchanged, Algerian Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil said after the cartel's meeting in Vienna. So far, OPEC countries have implemented only 70 percent of production cuts decided last year, which total 4.2 million barrels per day.

September 9th, 2009 Oil climbs above $72 as US dollar slumpsSINGAPORE — Oil prices rose above $72 a barrel Thursday in Asia amid a slumping U.S. dollar and steady OPEC production levels.

September 9th, 2009 Kuwait: No need for OPEC output cutVIENNA — Kuwait's oil minister says OPEC's markets monitoring committee will recommend the 12-member producer group keep its output targets unchanged when it meets Wednesday. Sheik Ahmed Al Abullah Al Sabah says, however, that members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries need to boost compliance with earlier cuts.

September 8th, 2009 OPEC: Saudi says crude markets 'in good shape'VIENNA — Saudi Arabia's oil minister said Tuesday that crude markets were "in good shape," boosting expectations OPEC will use its meeting this week to stress member compliance with output quotas — instead of cutting production. The comments by Saudi Arabia's Ali Naimi, echoed by Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheik Ahmed Al Abdullah Al Sabah, were the latest indications that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is comfortable with the rebound in crude prices that came about after members announced in December a record 4.2 million barrel per day output cut from September 2008 levels.

September 6th, 2009 OPEC not likely to cut output at Vienna meetingVIENNA — With oil prices about where OPEC wants them and a modest economic upturn in the offing, the oil cartel isn't likely to tighten the taps when its leaders meet this week in Vienna. Prices have been hovering near $70 a barrel, and with returning growth expected to support demand, analysts don't expect the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will feel any need to cut output targets.

August 12th, 2009 PARIS - Amid signs of a world economy now righting itself, the International Energy Agency (IEA) Wednesday raised its projections for world oil demand and output this year and in 2010. The Paris-based group said it expected demand this year to average 83.9 million barrels per day (b/d), some 190,000 b/d higher than what the IEA had projected just last month.

July 8th, 2009 OPEC: Recession leaves lasting crimp in oil demandVIENNA — Demand for OPEC crude has fallen so sharply because of the world recession that it will take another four years to recover to 2008 levels, the 12-nation oil producers' organization predicted Wednesday. The forecast was one of several profiled by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in its oil supply and demand outlook to 2030 reflecting the deep crimp in the world's appetite for oil because of falling international industrial production and related developments that have lessened crude use.

June 19th, 2009 VIENNA - The oil price of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose above $70 again Thursday, the Vienna-based group said Friday. The basket price for one barrel (159 litres) of OPEC-produced crude climbed to $70.28, $0.91 higher than on the previous day.

June 17th, 2009 VIENNA - The basket price of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose slightly Tuesday but stayed below the $70 mark, the cartel announced Wednesday. One barrel (159 litres) of OPEC-produced crude oil settled at $69.68 Tuesday, inching upwards from $69.24 on the previous day.

April 27th, 2009 Oil falls to near $50 as OPEC says prices too lowSINGAPORE — Oil prices fell toward $50 a barrel Monday in Asia as investors mulled comments from OPEC suggesting the price was too low for companies to justify new investments in crude production. Benchmark crude for June delivery was down $1.12 to $50.43 a barrel by midmorning in Singapore, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

January 15th, 2009 LUANDA - The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Friday said that it may consider more production cuts to stabilise the global oil prices. 'OPEC will not hesitate to summon a meeting to reduce oil production to stabilise the price in global market, if necessary,' the state-run ANGOP news agency quoted Botelho de Vasconcelos, chairman of the OPEC, as saying.

January 4th, 2009 VIENNA - The price for oil produced by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) jumped by more than $4 at the end of last week, the Vienna-based cartel announced Monday. One barrel (159 litres) of OPEC-produced crude stood at $39.95 Friday, up from $35.58 on the previous Wednesday.