The United Arab Emirates oil minister, Obaid bin Said al-Nasseri, said Sunday that although he expected oil prices to remain at above 25 dollars a barrel in the coming months, "the years 2000 and 2001 will see a good level of oil prices which could remain above 25 dollars a barrel."
The official Emirati WAM news agency quoted Nasseri as saying the maintenance of prices at this level will be supported by "world growth that could go past four percent in the coming year."
He added that the decision by the United States to dip into its strategic reserves was "a sovereign decision" that "could have a positive effect on oil prices in order to stabilize them."
Oil prices have recently spiked above 35 dollars a barrel for the first time since the 1991 Gulf War.
Nasseri, who was talking before his departure for Caracas where OPEC meets on Wednesday, said the cartel was not likely to decide on a further output hike during the summit.
"This issue is not on the agenda at the summit, but the heads of state meeting (there) could bring up whatever is necessary and possible" to reassure the oil market, he said.
Nasseri, whose country's OPEC production quota will be upped to 2.289 million bpd from the current 2.219 million bpd from October 1, also urged a new strategy for the cartel, "notably to re-launch dialogue between producers and consumers." – DUBAI (AFP)
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