By Abdelwaheb El Gueyed, KUNA
Vienna : OPEC Secretary General Abdullah Al-Badri predicted Friday that there would be a production surplus in the second quarter of this year as demand dropped due to seasonal reasons.
Speaking to KUNA prior to the extraordinary OPEC ministerial meeting that will kick off here later today, he said there was enough supply of crude oil and that OPEC had produced 32 million barrels per day in December, and thus the oil market was in good condition.
He added that OPEC was one of the balance axes of the market, and predicted that there would be a surplus in production during the first quarter of this year.
Asked about production among OPEC members, he said oil ministers would be discussing today a special report on supply and demand and market situation before taking a suitable decision on the matter.
As for the continued hike in oil prices, Al-Badri said that despite the unprecedented highs, the average for 2007 was around USD 70 per barrel.
Responding to a question on the goal of today’s extraordinary meeting given that there was a semi ministerial consensus on not adjusting the production ceiling, the secretary general said that the ministers, in their annual meeting in Abu Dhabi, had agreed to meet and discuss the market situation.
The meeting was agreed upon after OPEC noted the state of global economic decline in December, explaining that at the time, the volume of this decline was unknown, and neither were the threats it would pose on the US economy and other countries, especially the developing states.
Al-Badri added that the depreciation of the US dollar, alongside geopolitical and psychological aspects and speculations played a role in raising the price of oil, which compelled oil ministers to hold this meeting and discuss whether there was a need to increase the production of crude oil.
OPEC will present the ministers with the status of supply and demand, market conditions, global reserves, and other obstacles faced by the international market, he said.
He reiterated that OPEC would not hesitate to increase the production ceiling if there was a need to do so, in order to maintain prices at levels that served the interests of both the producers and the consumers.
Asked what the optimum price of oil was to OPEC, he explained that such a number was never placed by the organization, but said that it “does not prefer prices that are too high, nor too low.”