URL Vienna, March 27, IRNA -- The price of the OPEC Basket of seven crude stood at 25.54 dollars a barrel on Wednesday, compared with 26.84 dollars the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations here, Thursday.
Thu 13 Feb : 31.91
Fri 14 Feb : 32.33
Mon 17 Feb : 31.90
Tue 18 Feb : 31.85
Wed 19 Feb : 31.95
Thu 20 Feb : 31.48
Fri 21 Feb : 31.84
Mon 24 Feb : 32.44
Tue 25 Feb : 32.73
Wed 26 Feb : 32.49
Thu 27 Feb : 32.48
Fri 28 Feb : 32.63
Mon 03 March : 31.63
Tue 04 March : 32.12
Wed 05 March : 32.29
Thu 06 March : 32.50
Fri 07 March : 33.79
Mon 10 March : 33.11
Tue 11 March : 32.54
Wed 12 March : 32.74
Thu 13 March : 32.42
Fri 14 March : 30.98
Mon 17 March : 29.80
Tue 18 March : 27.69
Wed 19 March : 27.12
Thu 20 March : 26.51
Fri 21 March : 24.81
Mon 24 March : 25.70
Tue 25 March : 26.84
For the first quarter of 2002, the basket price averaged dlrs
19.83 a barrel as opposed to dlrs 18.38 in the fourth quarter of 2001. For 2001 as a whole, the price of the basket averaged dlrs 23.12 a barrel, compared with dlrs 27.60 in 2000, dlrs 17.47 in 1999 and dlrs 12.28 in 1998.
The OPEC basket comprises Algeria's Saharan Blend, Indonesia's Minas, Nigeria's Bonny Light, Saudi Arabian Light, Dubai of the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela's Tia Juana and Mexico's Isthmus Crude.
MN/AH
End

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela Electronic News Posted: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

Movimiento Quinta Republica deputy Tarek William Saab has accused the United States of trying to overthrow the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the current war on Iraq is party of that overall strategy, he said.

"We denounce the fact that under different pretexts war is being waged against the Iraqi people while the real objective is oil. We think that a desire to overthrow OPEC is what is behind events in Iraq."

According to the National Assembly foreign affairs commission vice president, Venezuela is not alone in holding this view and he claims in is a stance shared by the many OPEC member nations.

MVR is expected to organize a series of anti-war demonstrations and its deputies have announced that they will not be attending a reception at the US embassy today.

Wednesday March 26, 12:37 AM By Erik T. Burns A DOW JONES NEWSWIRES COLUMN

LISBON (Dow Jones)--Central bankers would do well to pay special attention to the fancy footwork and rhetorical twists of OPEC ministers, and not just because of fears a war-driven oil price could choke growth in Western economies.

No, the current OPEC shuffle illustrates something different: how to deal with two opposing messages under extraordinary pressure.

OPEC's problem is very like what faces the major central banks: a whopping surplus of supply, but a market that's scared of scarcity and begging for more.

With OPEC, the group repeatedly pledges to deliver as much crude oil as necessary to cool prices, while the market bids up nearby oil futures to near-record levels. At the same time, OPEC is worried about prices crashing, because of traditionally weak demand in the second quarter, and because the countries are pumping near capacity, sloshing more oil into the market than real demand merits.

It's an unusual situation - the Iraq war, the turmoil in Venezuela, and the growing unrest in Nigeria all present real threats to supply - but also one that's short-lived, not structural. When uncertainty fades, the premium will disappear, and quickly, as with the near 30% drop in crude prices as Operation Iraqi Freedom took wing.

Then OPEC will race to cut production - a much harder task for the group renowned for talking a collective game but acting individually, pumping as much as possible in order to garner market share.

Central banks, funnily enough, face the same slippery dilemma, though perhaps on a more metaphysical level.

Interest rates in the U.S., Japan and Europe are near historic lows, meaning it's cheaper than ever to print money by taking out loans or selling bonds. Indeed, monetarist Europe, stuck with the Bundesbank legacy, has staunchly ignored blistering growth in M3 money supply - it's up 7.4% in January, far above the ECB's 4.5% reference rate.

Meanwhile, M3 in the U.S., where there's less obsessing over the figure, is also on the rise.

The problem? Companies and individuals aren't taking the bait - they aren't snapping up that loose money and converting it into capital investment or goods and services. This may reflect a general lack of confidence, or it may reflect the hangover of the stock market bubble, with folks loathe to get fooled again.

It could, however, also reflect the notion - so patent during the dotcom boom - that investors are waiting for a final Fed or ECB move before resuming the investment cycle.

At this point, that's ridiculous. Another quarter point or half point off rates will make little difference. Even the psychological effects are nearly zero. The ratesetters' ammunition is all but depleted - they could probably boost confidence more by making it crystal clear no more cuts are in the offing.

And just as at OPEC, there's trouble looming. All the world needs is a catalyst and all that liquidity sloshing around the financial system will suddenly be tapped.

Pundits politely call this "reflation," which is just dandy if the result is an orderly resumption of growth. But just as oil prices could easily crash, so could consumer prices soar toward danger levels, if the money in the system is suddenly and forcefully channeled into the real market.

And the two effects together - cheap oil and cheap money - could kick off a new round of global growth ... but not without threatening a new round of global overheating.

That means central banks should take a tip from OPEC and pay attention to the huge reservoirs of liquidity they've built up to fend off fears of an emergency. The dam could burst quickly, letting the oil - or the money - flood the plains.

-By Erik T. Burns, Dow Jones Newswires; (351-21) 319-1863; erik.burns@dowjones.com

Opec Suspends Production Quota

March 21, 2003 Posted to the web March 21, 2003 Mike Oduniyi With Agency Report Lagos

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has announced the suspension of its production quota to make up for any shortfall arising from the bombardment of Iraq by US forces.

The decision, announced by OPEC President Abdullah al-Attiyah within an hour of the US air strikes on Iraq, meant member-nations, including Nigeria, would now produce oil as much as their capacity could carry.

OPEC, which controls more than 40 percent of the world's crude supply, operates the quota system as a control mechanism to ensure market stability.

Al-Attiyah said in a statement that the decision to suspend production quotas was aimed at maintaining world oil supplies and prices in the event of the disruption to Iraqi crude exports (put at some two million barrels a day) during the US.-led invasion.

"Members have pledged to use...their available excess capacities to ensure continued supply," the statement said.

Consequently, while the war on Iraq lasts, Nigeria, OPEC's sixth largest producer, could be pushing out at least 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude, compared to its official output quota of 2.018 million bpd for this year.

This represents additional oil output of 582,000 bpd available for Nigeria, and a substantial boost for the 2003 Federal Government budget.

The international market was quick to react to the OPEC decision, as oil prices fell nine percent yesterday to their lowest levels in three months. The market's benchmark crude, the British Brent, which was traded as high as $34.55 per barrel last week, fell to as low as $25.50 per barrel yesterday.

OPEC's own crude basket also lost about $6 a barrel, from $33 per barrel to $27.12 per barrel.

Petroleum product prices also dropped in the international market, as a metric tonne of premium motor spirit (or petrol) fell to $247.75 from $360 per metric tonne last week.

This would come as a respite to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), whose fuel import programme had suffered a jolt following the sharp increase in the prices of refined oil, and the consequent scarcity of products in the country.

Analysts said oil prices had not risen as earlier feared on grounds that there would be plenty of oil in supply, as OPEC member-countries would readily put their suppressed spare capacity to full use.

"OPEC producers other than Iraq and strife-torn Venezuela have been increasing production for weeks. Much of that oil is now in storage or in tankers on the high seas," said one oil analyst.

Saudi Arabia on the other hand, is believed to have as much as 50 million barrels in storage in the country and more en-route to other storage facilities. "That's enough to replace Iraq's 1.5 million to 2 million barrels a day for about a month."

Others said the markets remained calmed because the Bush administration had made clear that it was ready to use some of the 600 million barrels in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to counter shortages.

Energy experts said a glut could result if war in Iraq did not drag on and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein did not torch his oil fields.

The biggest fear in the market however, was that oil facilities in other Middle Eastern countries, such as Kuwait or Saudi Arabia, could be attacked. a scenario that would cause oil prices to shoot higher very quickly.

Another concern was the on going communal clashes in Nigeria's oil-producing town of Warri, Delta State, which it was feared, might make Nigeria unable to produce at full capacity.

The violent clashes between the Itsekiri and the Ijaw communities, which had left dozens dead, resulted in the loss of a total 156,000 bpd of oil output, six percent of Nigeria's production capacity.

This followed the closure of 10 oil flowstations belonging to Shell (resulting in production shut in of 126,000 bpd) while ChevronTexaco shut three of its swamp flowstations, losing 30,000 bpd of oil.

www.thisdayonline.com By Mike Oduniyi with Agency report

The Organisation of Petro-leum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has announced the suspension of its production quota to make up for any shortfall arising from the bombardment of Iraq by US forces. The decision, announced by OPEC President Abdullah al-Attiyah within an hour of the US air strikes on Iraq, meant member-nations, including Nigeria, would now produce oil as much as their capacity could carry. OPEC, which controls more than 40 percent of the world's crude supply, operates the quota system as a control mechanism to ensure market stability. Al-Attiyah said in a statement that the decision to suspend production quotas was aimed at maintaining world oil supplies and prices in the event of the disruption to Iraqi crude exports (put at some two million barrels a day) during the US.-led invasion. "Members have pledged to use...their available excess capacities to ensure continued supply," the statement said. Consequently, while the war on Iraq lasts, Nigeria, OPEC's sixth largest producer, could be pushing out at least 2.6 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude, compared to its official output quota of 2.018 million bpd for this year. This represents additional oil output of 582,000 bpd available for Nigeria, and a substantial boost for the 2003 Federal Government budget. The international market was quick to react to the OPEC decision, as oil prices fell nine percent yesterday to their lowest levels in three months. The market's benchmark crude, the British Brent, which was traded as high as $34.55 per barrel last week, fell to as low as $25.50 per barrel yesterday. OPEC's own crude basket also lost about $6 a barrel, from $33 per barrel to $27.12 per barrel. Petroleum product prices also dropped in the international market, as a metric tonne of premium motor spirit (or petrol) fell to $247.75 from $360 per metric tonne last week. This would come as a respite to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), whose fuel import programme had suffered a jolt following the sharp increase in the prices of refined oil, and the consequent scarcity of products in the country. Analysts said oil prices had not risen as earlier feared on grounds that there would be plenty of oil in supply, as OPEC member-countries would readily put their suppressed spare capacity to full use. "OPEC producers other than Iraq and strife-torn Venezuela have been increasing production for weeks. Much of that oil is now in storage or in tankers on the high seas," said one oil analyst. Saudi Arabia on the other hand, is believed to have as much as 50 million barrels in storage in the country and more en-route to other storage facilities. "That's enough to replace Iraq's 1.5 million to 2 million barrels a day for about a month." Others said the markets remained calmed because the Bush administration had made clear that it was ready to use some of the 600 million barrels in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to counter shortages. Energy experts said a glut could result if war in Iraq did not drag on and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein did not torch his oil fields. The biggest fear in the market however, was that oil facilities in other Middle Eastern countries, such as Kuwait or Saudi Arabia, could be attacked. a scenario that would cause oil prices to shoot higher very quickly. Another concern was the on going communal clashes in Nigeria's oil-producing town of Warri, Delta State, which it was feared, might make Nigeria unable to produce at full capacity. The violent clashes between the Itsekiri and the Ijaw communities, which had left dozens dead, resulted in the loss of a total 156,000 bpd of oil output, six percent of Nigeria's production capacity. This followed the closure of 10 oil flowstations belonging to Shell (resulting in production shut in of 126,000 bpd) while ChevronTexaco shut three of its swamp flowstations, losing 30,000 bpd of oil.