By Alex Lawler

Vienna, April 24 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- OPEC, which pumps a third of the world's oil, has agreed on the need to reduce production to prevent a slide in prices as the war in Iraq ends and demand slows, the group's president said.

Ministers plan to gather at 2 p.m. Vienna time for an informal meeting to discuss the size of their cutbacks, said Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, Qatar's oil minister and OPEC president. Some members back a reduction of 2 million barrels a day, designed to keep oil around $25 a barrel, he said.

We're very focused on that price and are going to do everything to maintain it,'' Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi told reporters. He said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is determined'' to keep prices at $25.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meets today in Vienna, after prices dropped from $34 a barrel in March because of easing concern about the war in Iraq. Members from Saudi Arabia to Nigeria opened the taps during the past two weeks to prevent shortages as Iraqi exports stopped, raising concern that too much oil may now be reaching consumers.

OPEC, supplier of a third of the world's oil, this month has pumped 1.7 million barrels a day more than its quota of 24.5 million, according to PetroLogistics Ltd., a Geneva-based industry consultant. Of the total, Saudi Arabia pumped 8.9 million.

``We will agree to reduce the oversupply,'' Venezuelan Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez told reporters.

Brent crude oil rose as much as 40 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $24.66 a barrel and was up 28 cents as of 12:44 p.m. in London. Prices are down 14 percent so far this year.

Ministers want to keep the oil index they monitor between $22 and $28 a barrel. The benchmark was last at $25.14 a barrel.

Outlook

While the U.S. military has said production may start from Iraq's northern fields next month, resuming exports depends on determining who will sell the oil. Iraq's oil reserves are the second-largest in the world.

Al-Naimi said he's not concerned about new supply coming because the world will soon need all it can get.

We're going to need more than just Nigeria and Venezuela,'' said al-Naimi. There's not going to be enough supply. We will be lucky if in the next 10 years we have enough to meet demand.''

Keeping oil around $25 ``keeps everyone happy'' and will encourage the investment needed to keep new supply coming, the minister said.

The Centre for Global Energy Studies, a consulting company founded by former Saudi oil minister Sheikh Zaki Yamani, said the group needs to trim supply by 500,000 barrels a day from March production to keep prices in the target range this quarter.

Oil consumers, including the International Energy Agency, representing 26 industrialized countries, have urged caution, saying supplies are needed to replenish inventories. Last Updated: April 24, 2003 07:46 EDT

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Thursday, April 24, 2003 By: Rufus Polson

Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 11:29:44 -0700 From: Rufus Polson dpolson@sfu.ca To: Editor@VHeadline.com Subject: I've been following your site for a while

Dear Editor: I've been following your site for a while; it's about the only place I can get some reasonably straight information about what's going on in Venezuela.

Venezuela concerns me -- it seems as if the consequences of events in Venezuela are likely to have wider impact in the world, and I strongly hope that the people of Venezuela are able to get control of the country's future away from the oligarchs, both local and foreign.

Whichever way things go, it seems to me that Venezuela will serve as an example to the rest of Latin America and beyond -- either of what is possible, or of what will happen to you if you try to expand possibilities.

Rufus Polson dpolson@sfu.ca SFU Library British Columbia, Canada

Posted on Thu, Apr. 24, 2003 BY KEN MORITSUGU twincities.com-Knight Ridder News Service

WASHINGTON — The good news is gasoline prices are not expected to rise much this summer. The bad news is they might not fall either.

A recent slide in gasoline prices might be winding down because major oil- producing countries are expected to announce production cuts today and the peak U.S. driving season is about to begin.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is holding an emergency meeting in Vienna, Austria, to decide how much to rein in production.

The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded dropped 15 cents in the past five weeks to $1.57, in large part because OPEC flooded the market with crude oil to offset the loss of supply from Iraq during the war. Gasoline is even cheaper in much of the South, but more expensive on the West Coast.

Now, OPEC is worried that a glut of oil might develop and cause a collapse in oil prices.

The price of crude oil fell to $26.65 a barrel Wednesday on the New York futures market, as the Energy Department reported that record oil imports last week pushed up U.S. inventories by 9 million barrels. A barrel is 42 gallons.

Just how much to cut remains a bit of a guessing game for the OPEC oil ministers. One uncertain factor is how soon Iraqi oil will return to the market. Other question marks include how quickly Nigeria and Venezuela will return to full production after political unrest that disrupted their oil operations.

Oil market analysts expect OPEC to curtail production by somewhere between 1 million and 2 million barrels a day and to revisit the issue at its next meeting on June 11. The OPEC nations are pumping more than 26 million barrels daily.

While OPEC cuts the supply of oil, U.S. demand is expected to rise as the weather warms and more people take to the roads.

Driving could be heavier than usual this year if the severe acute respiratory syndrome crisis prompts more people to take driving vacations instead of flying abroad, said Bruce Cavella, an oil industry analyst with Global Insight, an economic consulting firm in Lexington, Mass.

The Energy Department predicted earlier this month that unleaded regular would average $1.56 a gallon this summer, and an Energy Department economist said Wednesday that he sees no reason to change that. That still would be 17 cents a gallon higher than last summer's average of $1.39.

Gas prices could fall if OPEC miscalculates and the price of crude oil plummets.

Conversely, gas prices could rise if there is a serious breakdown. Because refiners made more fuel oil and less gasoline during the relatively cold winter, and because they cut back purchases of crude oil when prices were high, inventories of gasoline are lower than usual.

for this time of year, leaving the market vulnerable to a major refinery shutdown or pipeline break.

"We're not free and clear yet," Cavella said. "I think the next couple of months will still be dicey for gasoline prices."

Vienna, April 24 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia may lose its dominance over OPEC as a U.S.-backed Iraq prepares to expand the world's second-largest reserves, analysts said.

OPEC ministers will probably start talks today on how to resume output quotas for Iraq, a founding member of OPEC in 1960. Iraqi oil sales are governed by United Nations sanctions, not agreements among the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The negotiations may last months, the analysts said.

Since the 1990-1991 Gulf War, Saudi Arabia has pumped more to compensate for Iraq's decline, helping the country become the world's top oil producer. The return of Iraq means the Saudis will have to cede some of their more than 10 percent market share, a move Crown Prince Abdullah may oppose, analysts said.

``The important thing for OPEC is to maintain a businesslike perspective to keep prices close to $25 a barrel,'' said Brad Bourland, chief economist at the Riyadh-based Saudi American Bank. OPEC's success in keeping prices close to its target in the last four years could collapse if members squabble, he said.

OPEC ministers are gathering in Vienna today to discuss how to prevent a glut and stop prices from falling further, after they slid from $34 in early March to $24.43 today in London.

Brent crude oil has averaged $26.50 a barrel since 2000, 50 percent higher than the 1990s average, when the group fought over sales to the U.S. market. Analysts attribute the group's success to the Saudi oil minister, Ali al-Naimi.

Al-Naimi, 67, succeeded by agreeing accords with Venezuela, South America's largest oil producer, to limit output. He also persuaded non-OPEC members, such as Mexico and Norway, to cut sales when needed. The minister is near the end of a second term, raising speculation he may be replaced in a cabinet reshuffle.

Equal to Iran

Iraq may not receive a production quota until output surpasses levels seen before the Persian Gulf War, an OPEC official said yesterday. Production would have to rise to 3.5 million barrels a day, from the 2.5 million earlier this year, for Iraq to receive an allocation, he said.

While preparations for the OPEC meeting got under way in Vienna yesterday, four officials at the Iraqi embassy, across the street from the Intercontinental hotel where delegates gather, said they had lost contact with Baghdad.

The embassy sits on the Ring Strasse, where its faded 19th- century facade stands out against well-scrubbed neighbors, including the Kursalon concert hall.

The (Iraqi) government is inactive,'' OPEC President Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said yesterday. We're not going to see any Iraqi official here.''

OPEC's information booklet lists Amer Mohammed Rashid, Saddam Hussein's oil minister, as the nation's delegate. Rashid is number 47 of 55 Iraqi officials on the U.S. ``most wanted'' list.

Long Absence

OPEC, which pumps a third of the world's oil, started using quotas in 1982. Iraq hasn't participated in the system since 1990, when its output was set at 3.14 million barrels a day, a level equal to that of Iran, now OPEC's second largest producer.

Iran, which pumped 3.75 million barrels a day last month, earlier this year said it would oppose similar equality now for Iraq. Nigeria and Algeria also said they want a larger share of the group's output to reflect expansion of their oil industries. Nigeria can pump some 2.5 million barrels a day, and Algeria 1.2 million, according to Bloomberg estimates.

Nigeria is pressing the organization to raise its quota from 2.018 million barrels a day to closer to its production capacity.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who won re-election on Saturday, said Africa's top oil producer will remain in OPEC for the four-year life of his administration. The U.K.'s Independent newspaper reported last July that Nigeria was considering quitting OPEC over the quota dispute.

Saudi oil output almost doubled when Iraq's invasion of Kuwait shut production from both countries in 1990. The kingdom has remained close to a level of more than 8 million barrels a day since and will be reluctant to give up shipments, analysts said. The nation's income per head is half of what it was a decade ago.

Tripling in Size

Saudi Arabia will find it difficult not to concede some ground to Iraq in the coming years,'' said Anthony Harris, a former U.K. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. Boosting Iraq's output provides the U.S. with insurance in times of trouble. The more countries that can pump lots of oil, the better.''

Iraq could boost production to 3.5 million barrels a day once United Nations sanctions that restrict trade and investment are lifted, according to the Centre for Global Energy Studies, founded by former Saudi oil minister Sheikh Zaki Yamani. The project would take some $5 billion and three years.

Iraq could further boost production to 8 million barrels a day over nine years by developing unused oil fields at a cost of about $30 billion, the CGES said.

Exports from Iraq have been suspended since March 20 when the coalition invaded from Kuwait. Unlike the first Gulf War, the damage to oil infrastructure in both countries has been minimal, and Army officials have said exports could resume in months.

Iraq is an important country,'' president al-Attiyah said. I hope Iraq will soon have a very important role. Once we have a new Iraqi government, we will see Iraq coming back.'' Last Updated: April 24, 2003 02:42 EDT

Posted on Thu, Apr. 24, 2003 By Ken Moritsugu The Beacon Journal-Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON -The good news is gasoline prices are not expected to rise much this summer. The bad news is they might not fall either.

A recent slide in gasoline prices might be winding down because major oil-producing countries are expected to announce production cuts Thursday and the peak U.S. driving season is about to begin.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is holding an emergency meeting in Vienna, Austria, to decide how much to rein in production.

The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded dropped 15 cents in the past five weeks to $1.57 a gallon, in large part because OPEC flooded the market with crude oil to offset the loss of supply from Iraq during the war. Gasoline is even cheaper in much of the South, but more expensive on the West Coast.

Now, OPEC is worried that a glut of oil might develop and cause a collapse in prices.

The price of crude oil fell to $26.65 a barrel Wednesday on the New York futures market, as the Energy Department reported that record oil imports last week pushed up U.S. inventories by 9 million barrels. A barrel is 42 gallons.

Just how much to cut remains a bit of a guessing game for the OPEC oil ministers. One uncertain factor is how soon Iraqi oil will return to the market. Other question marks include how quickly Nigeria and Venezuela will return to full production after political unrest that disrupted their oil operations.

Oil market analysts expect OPEC to curtail production by somewhere between 1 million and 2 million barrels a day and to revisit the issue at its next meeting on June 11. The OPEC nations are pumping more than 26 million barrels daily.