The full text of OPEC's official communiqué following the
group's 114th full ministerial meeting Saturday.
The 114th meeting of the conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) convened in Vienna, Austria, on 16th and 17th March 2001, under the chairmanship of its president, Dr. Chakib Khelil, Minister of Energy & Mines of Algeria and head of its delegation.
The conference expressed its pleasure at the presence of high-level representatives from Angola, the republic Kazakhstan, Mexico, the sultanate of Oman, and the Russian federation, fellow oil-producing countries whose strong support for a reduction in production is welcomed by the organization.
The conference also reiterated its call on other non-OPEC producers to co-operate in efforts to stabilize the market through an appropriate adjustment in production.
The conference reviewed the secretary general's report, the report of the economic commission board, the report of the Ministerial Monitoring Sub-Committee (MMSC), and various administrative matters.
The present weaker world economy and the traditional sharp downturn in demand associated with the second quarter both clearly point to the need for a correction in oil supply, and the conference has taken the decision to stabilize the oil market.
Having reviewed the current market situation, the conference agreed to reduce production by 1 mb/d, with effect from 1st April 2001, making individual member country output levels as follows:
Algeria
production decrease level 32,000 (b/d)
new production 773,000 (b/d)
Indonesia
production decrease level 52,000
new production 1,255,000
I.R. Iran
production decrease level 146,000
new production 3,552,000
Kuwait
production decrease level 80,000
new production 1,941,000
S.P. Libyan A.J.
production decrease level 54,000
new production 1,296,000
Nigeria
production decrease level 82,000
new production 1,993,000
Qatar
production decrease level 26,000
new production 627,000
Saudi Arabia
production decrease level 324,000
new production 7,865,000
UAE
production decrease level 88,000
new production 2,113,000
Venezuela
production decrease level 116,000
new production 2,786,000
Total
production decrease level 1,000,000
new production 24,201,000
Member countries strongly emphasized their firm commitment to the agreement and each stressed its commitment to continue to maintain full compliance.
The conference agreed that market conditions should continue to be closely monitored and that, should prices remain persistently outside acceptable levels, immediate action to stabilize the oil market will be taken.
The conference further decided to hold an extraordinary meeting of the conference on 5th and 6th June 2001, in Vienna, Austria, in order to review the situation.
The conference expressed its appreciation to the government of the federal republic of Austria and the authorities of the city of Vienna for their warm hospitality and the excellent arrangements made for the meeting.
The conference passed resolutions that will be published on 17th April 2001, after ratification by member countries.
The next ordinary meeting of the conference will be convened in Vienna, Austria, on Wednesday, 26th September 2001.
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
