RIYADH, June 12: OPEC alone cannot change the fundamentals of the market. It would not be able to take woes out of the oil markets without other factors playing there due role, analysts here in Dhahran, the virtual global energy capital, strongly feel.

The Beirut June 3 OPEC ministerial meeting hence came out with a compromise package - definitely taking out some heat from the global market prices but at the same time ensuring that oil prices do not drop to the $10 a barrel mark, as was the case in not too distant a past.

Despite under pressure from the OECD countries and hence vowing to balance and correct the market fundamentals, to whatever extent possible for the oil producers' group, there were countries within the OPEC which did not want to increase the production beyond a certain point.

On the other hand, countries such as Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf states stressed the need of adequate measures to satisfy the global market needs. In the words of the Saudi oil minister Ali Al-Naimi, there is no division within the OPEC. Indeed there are doves and there are hawks and every one has a view point.

Thus despite controlling just about 30-35 per cent of the entire global crude market, Saudi Arabia and the other OPEC member states wanted to play responsibly, so as to ensure that both the consumers as well as producers' interests are not compromised. They were thus cautious in their approach and to a very great extent there was logic in their cautious approach towards the entire issue.

The OPEC decision in Beirut of increasing the output quota by 2 million barrels a day from July 1 and by another 500,000 barrels a day from August 1 has to be seen in this perspective.

The OPEC has also announced that the group would again meet in Vienna on July 21 to consider the market situation then and barring any dramatic developments in the meantime, it would go ahead with the additional 500,000 bpd output increase from August 1. In fact there have also been indications, from some OPEC delegations, the OPEC July 21 meeting may also consider output increase of more than 500,000 barrels per day (bpd). The OPEC decision has already succeeded in taking out some heat from the global crude prices.