Kuwait wants Opec basket price between $28-35
Posted: 02 March 2005
Kuwait wants Opec's reference price to drop into a $28-35 a barrel range as the group discusses how to rejig its crude oil basket to reflect its low-quality supply, Kuwait 's oil minister said, according to local news reports.
The group's crude oil basket was last valued at $46.26 a barrel -- around $5 less than US crude which today was trading near four-month highs above $52 a barrel.
Kuwait 's oil minister said that he would prefer to see the basket price lower, and added that Opec was also considering changes to the composition of its crude oil basket to reflect the low quality of Opec's production. This move alone would remove $1-2 from the basket's value, cartel officials said.
"Now the Opec basket is also at a record level of about $43-$44, but we think from past experience we have to look for an Opec basket between ... $28-$35," Shaikh Ahmad Al Fahd Al Sabah, also Opec's president said.
"This is my opinion as Kuwait , it is not the strategic committee opinion, nor the Opec opinion. The Opec opinion will be looked into at the Isfahan meeting," he said.
Opec meets on March 16 in Isfahan , Iran . Opec officials have said that the group may agree to change the composition the price basket at the meeting, Iran , with a greater proportion of heavier crudes cutting its price by $1-$2 a barrel.
Posted by Editor Pipeline Magazine
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