OPEC will Not Change Quotas in March

OPEC will not change its crude production quotas when it meets in Vienna on 17 March 2010 as the oil market is “very stable”, Qatar said. “We won’t see any change in the next OPEC meeting, the market is very stable and there’s no shortage in supply at all so there’s no need to change production,” the Deputy Premier Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said.

Al-Attiyah said Qatar was producing within its OPEC quota but compliance would be discussed in the upcoming meeting. He cautioned that oil prices above US$81 per barrel were partly being driven by speculation although demand is stabilising.

“The oil price is fluctuating now so we should not take US$81 for granted, some part of it is speculative and our position in OPEC is to concentrate on demand and supply,” al-Attiyah said. “We can see demand is stable and supply is very, very stable so there’s no shortage or panic and we are confident the supply is more than efficient in the market.” - Gulf Times