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UAE to Increase Output if OPEC Band Reached
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will increase its oil production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) if OPEC's price band is set, said Obeid bin Saif Al Nasir, minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
Quoted by WAM news agency, he said "the UAE favours applying the adjustment mechanism of the OPEC price level and allowing for an increase in output of 500,000 bpd if the basket price of crudes exceeds 28 U.S. dollars for 20 straight working days."
"The application of this mechanism is a way to reinforce OPEC's credibility with regard to the market and consumer countries," he said, saying the UAE was willing to increase its output in line with the mechanism, Dubai-based daily Gulf News reported Sunday.
At present, the basket price, which takes account of the seven main crudes used worldwide, stood at 31.14 dollars, up from the previous 30.94 dollars.
However, Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiya had said his country had not been informed of any OPEC decision to raise oil output to cool overheated prices.
"Venezuelan Oil Minister Ali Rodriguez, who heads the organization, did not inform us of any decision (to raise output),"Abdullah told the pan-Arab newspaper "Al Hayat".
"The current price increase is caused by psychological factors. I think the mechanism has been created to react to normal developments in the market linked to normal supply and demand parameters," he said. "The present prices do not reflect normal conditions," he added.
Meanwhile, Kuwait said it was prepared for an "automatic" rise in its oil output under an OPEC accord to boost production if the price of an OPEC basket of crudes exceeded 28 dollars for 20 working days.
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