OPEC leaders celebrate power

Caracas - OPEC heads of state, who are enjoying the greatest oil boom since the 1980s, were heading to Venezuela yesterday for…

Caracas - OPEC heads of state, who are enjoying the greatest oil boom since the 1980s, were heading to Venezuela yesterday for a summit celebration of the cartel's rebirth as a power in the world economy.

Most delegations arriving for the group's first summit in 25 years were in no mood to let importing countries' complaints about high energy prices spoil the party atmosphere.

Algeria's Energy and Mining Minister, Mr Chakib Khelil, told reporters he saw a good chance of OPEC trimming output in the northern hemisphere spring of 2001 to protect against a slide in price.