Naimi says target oil price is $25/bbl

Nov. 27, 2000
Saudi Arabian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali I. Naimi said producing nations will maintain the recent relative stability of oil prices. Naimi, speaking after an Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries ministerial meeting in Cairo, said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will keep oil prices in the range of $22-$28/bbl. He added that $25/bbl was the target.


Saudi Arabian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali I. Naimi said last weekend producing nations will maintain the recent "relative stability" of oil prices, according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' news agency, OPECNA.

Naimi, speaking after an Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) ministerial meeting in Cairo, restated that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was seeking oil prices in the range of $22-$28/bbl. He added that $25/bbl was the "target."

He dismissed suggestions of a possible global shortage of oil supplies and said OPEC was "ready to adjust to the market's needs."

"If there is any need to increase or reduce production, we will do it," Naimi stressed, adding that OPEC "should be cautious before deciding any further production hikes."

North Sea Brent crude oil futures settled slightly lower on the International Petroleum Exchange in London on Friday, at $33.12/bbl, after a week of mostly quiet and range-bound trading.

There was no trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday, due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. In after-hours electronic access trading in New York, however, light, sweet crude was fetching $35.05/bbl for the January position and $34.21/bbl for the February contract, both down from the last NYMEX close.