OPEC exceeds quotas by 3 million BPD

OPEC is exceeding its oil- production quota by 3 million barrels a day, a supply that world demand ``supports well,'' Algerian oil minister Chakib Khelil said, the Algerian Press Service reported.

Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet Dec. 12 in Vienna to discuss whether to change their combined production target of 21.7 million barrels a day. The target applies to all members except Iraq, whose exports are regulated by the United Nations.

OPEC's so-called basket price for crude oil has stayed within the range of $22 to $28 a barrel preferred by the producer group for all but 16 days this year and fetched $25.66 yesterday.

"The main thing for the OPEC producers is to maintain the stability of prices in the range of $22 to $28 a barrel and preserve the balance of the market,'' Khelil said at a news conference Tuesday. "We are going to work to this purpose in our next ministerial meeting in Vienna."

Algeria will continue to seek an increase in its quota to 1.1 million barrels a day from 693,000 barrel, Khelil said.

In October, the 10 OPEC members with quotas produced an average of 24.6 million barrels of oil a day, exceeding their combined daily target by 2.89 million barrels, according to Bloomberg estimates. The total included 247,000 barrels a day of excess output from Algeria. (*)