The head of Opec said today he expected a decision this week on whether the cartel will release additional oil in an attempt to cool record high prices.
“We are still discussing with our colleagues in Opec whether to release the 500,000. I am waiting for their answer for these points,” Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah, who is also Kuwait's oil minister, told reporters.
Asked how long it would take to make a decision on the extra supply, he said: "I think this week we will reach a solution."
Whether extra oil will be released will depend on the outcome of a study carried out by Opec officials on supply and demand.
“They are studying the demand and the supply for May. . .
. If they will find that there is a shortage in the market because of the supply, I think they will approve to me to release the 500,000 bpd,” Sheikh Ahmad said.
Oil prices failed to respond to Sheikh Ahmad's comments with US crude oil futures holding near record highs above $60 a barrel. Opec ministers themselves have said that adding extra crude will not solve the problem of refinery bottlenecks that have fuelled the rally.
Opec agreed at a meeting earlier this month to raise its formal production quotas by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 28 million bpd, roughly matching its current actual output.
It promised another 500,000 bpd increase should prices stay high and Sheikh Ahmad said on Saturday he had started consultations with other oil ministers on releasing extra oil.
Most Opec members are already pumping at full capacity.