The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will meet in Vienna on Sunday to consider increasing production to check the spurt in international crude prices. It will also consider India's request for concessional pricing of crude for developing countries.
While the Sunday meeting will discuss measures to increase crude production by the Opec member-countries to check the soaring international prices of oil, "we also have India's request under consideration. We hope to arrive at a decision soon", newly appointed president of the Opec, Abdulla Bin Hammed Al Attiyah, told reporters on the sidelines of Petrotech 2003 here.
Officials indicated the output increase by the Opec member-countries could take effect from February 1.
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Attiyah, however, refused to give any timeframe for taking a decision on India's request.
India, which imports around 70 million tonnes of crude annually, has been seeking concessional pricing of crude and removal of the $2 per barrel Asia premium. The Opec president said the organisation was meeting in Vienna on January 12 to discuss measures to stabilise oil markets.
Crude prices have surged in recent weeks on fears that a US-led war on Iraq may be imminent, and also because of the general strike in Venezuela that has crippled the country's oil production and exports.
The Opec's price band mechanism is set to trigger an output increase early next week, although Attiyah did not speculate on the quantum of increase. "It is very difficult to say how much production will be increased," he said.
The mechanism provides for production to be boosted by 500,000 barrels per day if the Opec basket of crude stays above the $22-28 per barrel targeted price band for 20 consecutive trading days.
High crude prices were equally bad for oil producers and consumers, Attiyah said, adding that the Opec would sincerely work to comfort clients and consumers.
Attiyah, however, refused to go into what the Opec considered a fair price, saying he would like the prices to settle in the agreed band of $22-28 per barrel.
The Sunday meeting would also take into consideration the possibility of production in Iraq drying up in the case of an attack by the US, the Opec president said.
Attiyah said the Opec had earlier requested Russia, Mexico and Norway to increase crude production to help tide over the crisis, but they had declined to do so because they were already producing to capacity.