At the OPEC meeting in Vienna, Algerian Oil Minister Chakib Khelil proposed that OPEC officially increase its production quota by to reflect its real output. Speaking to reporters Khelil said, “We are producing at maximum right now and we just officialise that and that is all we can do,”
According to Qatari Energy Minister Abdullah Bin Hamad al-Attiyah, “There [is] no need to ‘officialise’ the output because pumping more oil than the current quota of 26 million barrels per day is not cheating. We are not cheating, because we asked all to produce the maximum, OPEC and even non-OPEC, so we have not come here to talk about how to legalise issues.”
“A change in the official quota [is] unlikely to stabilise the volatile oil markets. The problem today is not the ceiling but the current production today. By deciding in June to increase supply as oil prices hit record heights, OPEC [has] done all it can to stabilise the market. We sent a strong message to satisfy the world consumers, we are doing our best. OPEC did whatever they can do,” added Abdullah.
The Minister also indicated he was opposed to suggestions to abandon the OPEC quota system as “it [will] prove its usefulness once the energy market returned to normal”.
