Opec's output ‘adequate’: UAE

Opec's current crude production is "adequate to the market" and there is no talk of the cartel changing its output target of 30 million barrels per day (bpd) when it meets in December, the UAE's energy minister, Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazroui, said.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which pumps more than a third of the world's oil, meets on December 4 in Vienna to decide whether to adjust its output target.

"There is no sign or something that we can tell you today to say we are increasing or decreasing the quota," Al Mazroui told Reuters in an interview, referring to the December meeting.

"But what is certain is we will ensure the market is well-supplied," he said on Sunday in the city of Daegu, about 300 km southeast of the South Korean capital and the venue of this week's World Energy Congress.

The United Arab Emirates produced 2.7 million to 2.8 million bpd of crude last month, Al Mazroui said, but he declined to reveal this month's production level.

Opec's September output was the lowest since October 2011, when the group pumped 29.81 million bpd, according to Reuters surveys, and leaves supply a mere 70,000 bpd above its output target of 30 million bpd.

Opec again lowered the forecast demand for its crude in the fourth quarter and 2014 in a monthly report on Thursday, saying its production remained higher than next year's demand for its oil despite a plunge in Iraqi and Libyan output.

Asked about the current level of oil prices, Al Mazroui said around $100 a barrel was "fair and sustainable" for producers, and it did not harm the market.

Brent crude rose above $117 in August on the disruption of Libyan supply and the prospect of US military action against Syria. In the past four weeks it has ranged between $107 and $112 a barrel.

 

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