OPEC Worries About Oil Price in Early 2001Oil prices will collapse in the second quater of 2001, if Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) takes no preventive measures, local press Tuesday quoted OPEC president Ali Rodriguez as saying.Ali Rodriguez, also the Minister of Energy and Mines of Venezuela, said that he hoped US President-elect George Bush could understand that there would be oil price problems in the second quarter of 2001 if no corresponding measures were taken accordingly. Crude oil output is now increasing each passing day, Rodriguez said, adding that daily output of crude has surpassed the total amounts of daily consumed oil products for 84 days. In fact, crude's cost has shown a progressive lowering since November, which has caused worries among OPEC countries, he said. Rodriguez warned that if current surplus supplies of crude oil on market cannot be curbed immediately, things will be worsening for both OPEC members and oil consumers. In 1999, for example, the United States had to shut 136,000 oil wells, lay off 36,000 workers, and cut oil production by 500,000 barrels a day, because of low prices of oil products, he said. According to the price band system, OPEC can cut oil output by 500,000 barrels a day on its own, if prices stay low for 20 consecutive days. |
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