June 12, 2003	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1424

DOHA, June 11: Opec announced on Wednesday it will maintain its current production ceiling at least until July 31 when it meets in Vienna to discuss Iraq’s return to the market, but urged members to comply strictly to quotas.

“We agreed in April that the ceiling is 25.4 million barrels per day (bpd) from June 1,” Opec President Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah told reporters at the end of an extraordinary meeting of the cartel in Qatar.

“Today we reconfirmed this agreement. We hope there will be no overproduction (above quotas) during this period, until July 31.”

Mr Attiyah added that the 11-member oil cartel would do “whatever it can” for war-torn Iraq, adding it was difficult to predict when Baghdad would overcome its technical problems and resume exports.

“We hope we can see a government in Iraq, an oil minister. Until then, we will continue discussing with Iraqi oil officials how we can collaborate.”

The US-British coalition ruling Iraq has said it would be up to the next Iraqi government to decide on remaining in the cartel.

In a statement released at the end of the meeting, Opec said stability had been “maintained in the market following the decision taken by the (Opec) conference in April 2003 to reduce actual production to 25.4 million bpd, with prices remaining within agreed levels.”

Mr Attiyah said the cartel will meet in Vienna on July 31 even if Iraq does not resume exports, in order to “assess the market.”—AFP