September 27, 2006	Wednesday	Ramazan 3, 1427

LONDON, Sept 26: World oil prices travelled in different directions on Tuesday after Opec signalled that it would not cut output before December to help strengthen crude futures.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it was not considering an emergency session ahead of its scheduled December meeting, despite recent heavy price falls for crude, dealers said.

Markets also reacted to news from British energy giant BP that it expected Prudhoe Bay, the biggest US oil field, would resume full production totalling 400,000 barrels daily by the end of October.

At about 1630 GMT, New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, gained 15 cents to $61.60 per barrel in pit trading.The contract had sunk to $59.52 on Monday, the lowest level since March 8.

In London on Tuesday, Brent North Sea crude for November delivery fell 15 cents to $60.65 per barrel in electronic trading. It touched a low of $59.32 on Monday -- last seen also on March 8.

“There is really no meeting planned as of now,” a spokesman for the 11-nation Opec oil cartel told AFP in Vienna.

“The (Opec) president is always in consultations with the other ministers and they’re discussing the matter but there is no emergency meeting scheduled.”

Calyon analyst Mike Wittner called it a “notable statement”.

“This week, the markets are really looking to figure out when Opec, in particular Saudi Arabia, is going to take some action.”

Dealers said the market was concerned that the cartel might begin to trim production if prices dropped much further.

“The market is watching out for any signs of what Opec might do and what prices they may support,” said Mark Pervan, an energy analyst for Daiwa Securities in Melbourne.

Michael Davies, an analyst with the Sucden brokerage in London, added: “Voices within Opec have started to make noises about being concerned by the sharp fall in oil prices. However, there is still no plan to call an emergency meeting before December.”

Opec kept the official quota steady at a total of 28 million barrels per day (bpd) at its last meeting in September but said its president could call an emergency meeting if necessary. The next meet is on December 14 in Abuja, Nigeria.

Regarding Prudhoe Bay, a BP spokesman in London told AFP that output had been raised over the weekend to 300,000 barrels per day after normal production was slashed by about half last month owing to a pipeline leak.

The spokesman added that output at the Alaskan oil field would rise to 350,000 bpd over the next week.—AFP