OPEC President says quota cut still possible

OPEC president Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Friday OPEC remained undecided on whether it would change output limits at a February meeting, despite one member's forecast that production would be left unchanged.

"The possibility to defend that quota will remain, but so does the possibility to cut the quota," Purnomo, who is also Indonesian oil minister, said on the sidelines of an energy meeting in Bogor.

"At this stage we cannot say what we are going to do, because OPEC liquid (actual production) is relatively high," he said.

OPEC limits official production to 24.5 million barrels per day, but Purnomo has said member countries are pumping more to help contain rising prices.

"Our liquid (actual production) is relatively high therefore OPEC is not required to increase production," he said on Friday.

"The interesting thing is there are reports that the Russian minister is in a cooperative position right now in dealing with the oil market, especially his stance on the policy of an oil price range of $22-$28 per barrel, but that's just a report," said Purnomo. Russia is a major non-OPEC oil producer.

The $22-$28 range is OPEC's target for a basket of its crudes.

The oil minister of OPEC member Algeria said on Wednesday the exporters' cartel was likely to agree to keep production unchanged when it meets in Algiers on February 10.

"The most likely decision is to maintain the level where it is now," Chakib Khelil told reporters in Madrid.

"Our objective is to stabilize prices between $22-$28 a barrel. OPEC does not want very high prices. It's not in the interests of producer countries nor the consumers to have very high prices."(*)