Washington – While tight markets and global tensions have pushed up prices, the president of OPEC said Wednesday there’s plenty of oil, with the global surplus expected to grow at current production levels.
The assessment by Nigerian Oil Minister Edmund Daukoru provided an indication that members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries may reduce production levels when they meet March 8.
“In the second quarter, we forecast an overhang (of supply) of maybe 2 million barrels a day,” said Daukoru, maintaining there isn’t enough refining capacity to handle that amount of supply.
Daukoru declined to speculate what the cartel will do but said its discussions “should be against the background of that anticipated overhang,” which he suggested could lead to a collapse in oil prices.
He called $60 a barrel for oil a “fair price” and said oil prices should be kept at “an equilibrium with global economic growth.”
Daukoru projected Nigerian oil production to grow to 4 million barrels a day by 2008.
