9/8/2009
Kuwait Oil minister arrives in Vienna to attend OPEC meeting Tuesday
Kuwait's Minister of Oil and Minister of Information Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah arrived in Vienna Monday evening, to attend the 154th regular meeting of OPEC ministers due to convene a day later.
The ministers are expected to discuss fluctuating global oil prices amid the failure of some OPEC nations to commit to the cartel's agreed production quota, which has caused fears of a further decline in prices.
Before his departure, the minister declared that the ministerial market minotoring committee prior to the last meeting, had reported a 90 percent output quota commitment, however in the last meeting that percentage had decreased to between 80-75 percent.
According to statements by several OPEC ministers including Sheikh Ahmad, the meeting will urge a commitment to the current production quota, especially in light of signs of an improvement in global financial markets. Furthermore, OPEC hopes crude prices will stay in the USD 70-80 margin until the end of the year.
The minister will also attend a meeting of the ministerial market monitoring committee tasked by OPEC, which along with Kuwait, includes Iran and Nigeria as well as the OPEC Secretary General Abdullah Salem Al-Badri. The committee will review the state of global supply and demand and make recommendations in preparation for the broader ministerial meeting.
