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2010 OPEC oil output to fall, says Iran?s Khatibi
Published on November 30, 2009 by oilprices · No CommentsDemand for OPEC crude oil output in the first quarter of 2010 is expected to fall below current output, the Mehr News Agency quoted a senior Iran official as saying on Monday.
“Demand in the last quarter of 2009 is about 29.3 million barrels per day (bpd) … it is expected to fall to 28.1 million bpd in the first quarter of next year,” said Mohammad Ali Khatibi, Iran’s representative to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
“Global demand for OPEC oil (in the first quarter of 2010) will be lower than current output,” Khatibi said, without elaborating. Khatibi also said output by countries outside the OPEC was expected to increase by 200,000 bpd during the same period.
On Saturday, Khatibi was quoted as saying that there was no need to change OPEC’s crude output ceiling because the oil market was in balance. The OPEC will meet in Angola on December 22nd 2009 to decide on its oil production policy.
A rise in crude oil prices has prompted some voices within OPEC to raise the prospect of an oil output rise at the December meeting, if the rally continues.