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OPEC summit to highlight development, not market policies

https://www.chemnet.com   Nov 20,2007 Xinhua
RIYADH, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Oil exporting countries decided to discuss development instead of output adjustment in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) rare two-day summit to be held here as of Saturday.

In a two-day ministerial symposium ending Friday, OPEC leaders said that the three themes on the summit's agenda would be "Providing Petroleum, Promoting Prosperity and Protecting the Planet."

Abdalla Salem EL-Badri, the Libya-born OPEC Secretary General, told reporters on Thursday that environmental and development issues would remain prominent throughout the summit.

OPEC is dedicated to supporting economical prosperity and development, said he, noting the group "wants to help support national development."

Amid surging oil prices and call from the United States to pump more output, the OPEC's third summit has ruled out measures to control the daily oil output.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi also denied that the summit would discuss curbing the surging oil prices.

"This is not the place to focus on price, incremental production or a decrease," he told reporters.

Badri, meanwhile, told a news conference on Thursday that the oil market was well-supplied and currently there was no need to increase oil output.

The official also said that a final decision on its 12 members' production would be taken by OPEC ministers when they meet in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 5.

Environmental issues are high on the summit agenda and an environmental fund is expected to be launched by OPEC to promote carbon dioxide emission reduction.

OPEC currently groups 12 countries and will re-accept Ecuador, a former member who withdrew the cartel in 1992, as a formal member during the summit.

The 12 OPEC members are Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates(UAE) and Venezuela.

Supplying 40 percent of the global oil demand and controlling80 percent of the world reserves, OPEC produces daily about 32million barrels of oil and the daily basket price, based on production in 12 different countries, stood at 87.01 dollars on Thursday.

The previous two summits in the organization's 47-year history were held in 1975 and 2000.
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