OPEC likely to hold oil output in September

OPEC the producer of almost 40% of the world's oil, will likely hold output steady at its next meet in Vienna in September amid ongoing market uncertainty, Libya's top oil official said Thursday.

"Volatility is still in the market," Shokri Ghanem, head of the Libyan National Oil Co., told Zawya Dow Jones on the phone when asked what action the group, known as OPEC, is likely to take on Sept. 9.

Wednesday, Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah said OPEC may rollover a decision because the market situation requires stability to balance demand and supply.

Iran's OPEC governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi also Wednesday said the group's number two producer would seek to discuss how to address an expected overhang in crude oil supplies in the first quarter of 2010 at the next meeting.

Several officials from OPEC said in recent weeks that they are happy with oil prices around $70 a barrel.

Last week, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmed Al Abdullah Al Sabah told reporters OPEC should agree to maintain quotas when it meets and that he favors oil prices at $70-$80 a barrel.