Kuwait, Iran, Algeria and UAE to Hold Talks on Oil Prices

September 23, 1998 - 0:0
KUWAIT CITY Kuwaiti Oil Minister Saud Nasser al-Sabah will meet his Algerian, Iranian and United Arab Emirates counterparts on Wednesday to discuss low oil prices ahead of OPEC's November meeting. Algerian Energy and Mining Minister Yousef Yousfi, due to arrive here Tuesday, has said there is a strong willingness from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to boost prices.

Emirate Oil Minister and OPEC President Obeid ibn Said al-Nasseri and Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanghaneh are expected to arrive in Kuwait on Wednesday. Kuwait has issued an open invitation for negotiations between oil-producing countries on moves to prop up prices, which recently hit 10-year lows, before the November OPEC meeting in Vienna. Sheikh Saud met last week with the Qatari Energy Minister Abdallah ibn Hamad al-Attiya and Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi.

Naimi is due to meet Mexican Oil Minister Luis Tallez and their Venezuelan counterpart Erwin Arrieta next week in Mexico. Both OPEC and non-OPEC producers have made efforts to stem the decline in oil prices by agreeing on output cuts. OPEC, which provides 37 percent of the world's oil, has committed itself to a 2.6 million barrel per day (bpd) cut.

Further cuts from non-OPEC countries such as Mexico, Russia and Oman amount to about 500,000 bpd. Before June's OPEC meeting, Persian Gulf OPEC members produced a total cut of 495,000 bpd. Saudi Arabia cut production by 225,000 bpd, Qatar by 20,000 bpd, and Kuwait and the UAE by 75,000 bpd each. Algeria has cut production by 80,000 bpd and Iran by 165,000 bpd.

(AFP)