O.P.E.C. fails to agree

Press, 2 July 1986, Page 10

O.P.E.C. fails to agree

NZPA-Revter Brioni, Yugoslavia O.P.E.C. Ministers have given themselves a fourweek respite in their search for consensus on ways to restore the group’s power in the world oil market and revive flagging prices. Six days of talks ended yesterday in only a tentative majority agreement on production levels and prices, and a promise to meet again in Geneva on July 28 to consider quotas — or how the output total would be shared among the 13 member States. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries president, Mr Rilwanu Lukman, of Nigeria, said Ministers

had expressed a wish to “attempt some form of restraint (in output), not to worsen the market.” But tough comments by Ministers as they left the Adriatic island of Brioni indicated that few were in a mood to adopt such cuts, as individual States prepared to defend jealously their own falling oil revenues. . Nine of the group approved in principle a plan to cut total output from the present 19 million barrels a day to a 17.6 million barrel average for the year. The lack of a firm O.P.E.C. agreement may push already depressed oil prices below SUSIO a barrel, said analysts.

But they agreed that seasonal demand will give some support to prices in the fourth, quarter of the year, by which time O.P.E.C. ?. may have achieved consensus on restricting? output.