Moscow: Kuwait is satisfied with oil prices between $75 and $85 a barrel and doesn't expect Opec to lower production quotas, the nation's oil minister said.
"We are satisfied with the range of $75 to $85," Shaikh Ahmad Al Abdullah Al Sabah said in Moscow yesterday.
"We don't anticipate any cuts but we do encourage other Opec countries to be more compliant."
Output from the 11 Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) members subject to quotas rose 30,000 barrels a day in July, 1.98 million barrels above their target, a Bloomberg News survey published July 29 showed. Compliance among these members fell to 52.9 per cent from 53.6 per cent in June.
Opec cut its quotas by 4.2 million barrels to 24.845 million barrels a day beginning in January 2009 as fuel demand fell during the worst recession since the Second World War.
Oil has risen 62 per cent since then, encouraging some members of the group to produce more than their limit, and traded at $81.23 a barrel at 9.55am in London. "The compliance rate is not up to our standards at 52-53 per cent," Shaikh Ahmad said, adding that Gulf countries are committed to their quotas. "We would like to see more 75-85 percent."
All members produced above their limits last month. Nigeria exceeded its quota by 357,000 barrels, according to Bloomberg data, more than any other Opec nation. Saudi Arabia, Opec's biggest member, produced 249,000 barrels a day more than its limit.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered by 5.5 per cent its forecast for New York oil prices this year on speculation a slowdown in global economies will limit crude's potential to rise, it said in a July 31 report. Oil may fall as low as $50 a barrel on lower demand and a risk Opec members won't adhere to production cuts, according to the report.
"The world economy is not recovering at the pace we want to see," said Shaikh Ahmad. "The slow pace is in Europe and America but there is a fast pace in Asia, in China and India."
Quotas
- 1.98m barrels above targeted quota
- 52.9% fall in compliance among Opec members
