Austria: OPEC expected to cut oil production tomorrow

Vienna (<a href=www.bluebull.com>Bluebull) - Saudi Arabian oil minister Ali al-Naimi warned in Vienna that excess oil supplies are increasing and may hurt prices in some two months. He commented the process as the strongest sign yet the OPEC, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will agree to cut production. Saudi Arabia, is OPEC's biggest oil producer.

An OPEC meeting tomorrow is to assure that they keep the price where it is. OPEC ministers are concerned that if they don't take some steps, an oil surplus may occur. The concerns of the organisation are understandable as London oil prices have slid from USD 34 a barrel in early March to around USD 25 now after OPEC boosted output to compensate for outages in Venezuela and Nigeria and the war in Iraq.

Meanwhile, US military forces said production may start from Iraq's northern fields next month, while the recovery of exports depend on determining who will export and sell the oil. /pz