July 31, 2003	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 30, 1424

VIENNA, July 30: Opec oil ministers gathering here to review their oil production ceiling looked set on Wednesday to resist pressure to raise output despite the slower than expected resumption of Iraqi exports.

Relaxed ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries signalled ahead of their conference on Thursday that they believed the oil market was adequately supplied.

With the price of the Opec basket of crudes inside the $22 to $28 per barrel band sought by the cartel there was no need to act now, said Opec’s president, Qatari energy minister Abdullah Al Attiyah.

“In my opinion, I don’t think so... prices remain in the band,” he said when asked if Opec needed to modify its official oil production ceiling of 25.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in force since June 1.

But Attiyah added that Opec was waiting to see how much crude would flow from post-war Iraq, and if the market balance changed then the cartel could decide in September to change quotas for the fourth quarter.

“In September it will be an open agenda,” he told reporters on his arrival in the Austrian capital, which houses Opec’s headquarters.

The United Arab Emirates and Indonesia have also indicated they see no need to adjust quotas yet, while Opec kingpin Saudi Arabia has stated its satisfaction with the market status quo.—AFP