OPEC oil ministers are set to hold a regular ministerial meeting in Vienna on June 8, to mull the market’s supply and demand and a possible new output ceiling.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries should take a decision to increase its oil production, in order to meet higher demand expected in the second half of 2011, according to a delegate who attended a meeting of the group’s advisory board on Friday.
The Economic Commission Board, meeting in Vienna ahead of the June 8 formal OPEC meeting, did not have a proposal for how much oil the producer group should add to the market, the delegate added.
“There will be more demand during the second half of the year, and there is a need for OPEC to meet that demand,” the delegate said on condition of anonymity.
The delegate said members of the advisory board predict supply disruptions in Libya would carry on into the second half.
OPEC is facing pressure to inject more oil into the world market in a bid to rein in controllably surging oil prices worldwide. The cartel now produces 30 million barrels of oil per day, while US crude oil prices exceeded the $100 mark.
The Opec said on Friday its 12 crude-basket fell $1.53 to $109.91 pb on Thursday. The annual basket price for 2010 was $77.45 pb, according to the daily bulletin of the global cartel.
The Opec basket comprises Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE), and Merey (Venezuela).
