OPEC seeks 'fair' oil prices: president (AFP)

[Up2Late]

(Hummmm? When OPEC is looking for "fair" prices, something must be really screwed up.)

OPEC seeks 'fair' oil prices: president

25/09/2005 12h20

ABU DHABI (AFP) - The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries wants "fair" oil prices and will raise its output ceiling whenever it deems this will promote price stability, the cartel's president said in remarks delivered on his behalf. "OPEC wants fair prices. High oil prices don't serve producers, especially OPEC members," Kuwait's energy minister Sheikh Ahmad Fahd al-Sabah said Sunday in a keynote speech delivered at a three-day oil conference.

In his address, read by Talal al-Khaled al-Sabah, managing director for services at Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Sheikh Ahmad said past experience showed that rising prices eventually lead to a price crash. "High oil prices which harm economies of the consumer countries do not serve the interests of producers, especially OPEC members. Past experience showed that spiraling oil prices will sooner or later lead to a price crash," he said.

"It is in the vital interest of OPEC members to maintain a healthy global demand for oil at fair prices so they do not negatively impact this demand," the OPEC chief said. OPEC "will raise the ceiling whenever it deems that this serves stability... We assure the market that we will do anything to restore stability to oil prices," Sheikh Ahmad said.

"There has been no real shortage in crude supplies."

<http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/050925122026.gex79tvg.html>
(more at link above)

[bahrbearian]

1. Chimpy says our economy is strong so "Bring em on"

Higher price gas is on its way.

[Miss Chybil]

2. It's the refineries, stupid.

Why build more when OPEC will sell the gas companies oil at a "fair" price and the gas companies can turn around and screw us with their refusal to build more refineries? Why would they want to do anything to disrupt their record profit-making?