OPEC discusses return of Iraqi oil April 24th in Vienna

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would hold a consultative meeting in Vienna on April 24th to discuss conditions of the oil market and possible developments in view of an expected return of Iraqi oil and lift of sanctions on Iraq, an official OPEC spokesman said Tuesday as reported by Kuwait News Agency.

The spokesman, who asked not to be named, added the Oil ministers would hold a "consultative" and not "extraordinary" meeting as previously reported.

It would be much like the Cairo meeting in December 2001. The extraordinary meeting, he said, would be held in Doha in June.

The spokesman expressed hope all OPEC ministers would attend the meeting although some might have prior engagements.

Regarding Iraq, OPEC sources pointed out that with the fall of the Saddam regime, no invitation would be presented to any regime representative, including Iraqi Charge' d' Affaires Khalid Al-Shimmeri who is still in the Austrian capital.

This is understandable as the political situation in Iraq remains ambiguous though OPEC hopes there would be a representative of the new Iraqi government once it is elected.

OPEC Chairman Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah Al-Attiyah had in a previous statement stressed OPEC is keen on Iraq's membership as a founder state.

Meanwhile, OPEC Secretary General Alvaro Silva Calderon Tuesday said OPEC ministers would consider "all options" in their consultative meeting due April 24th in Vienna.

In an OPEC statement published here today, Calderon said this means OPEC intends to react swiftly to any circumstance that might compromise market stability.

As to the options, he said they include strategies producers and consumers might opt to maintain price stability. OPEC ministers had kept the production maximum of 24.5 million barrels per day in their last meeting in March.

OPEC Basket price had stabled at US$25.35 per barrel Monday, well within the 22-28 dollar price range. However, OPEC Secretary General had expressed concern prices would fall further in the second quarter this year. (*)