By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Mar. 15 -- Energy futures prices rose in international markets Thursday with more talk of possible US action against Iraq and indications that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will adhere to existing oil production quotas at a meeting today in Vienna.
OPEC's ministerial monitoring subcommittee reaffirmed its commitment to reduced production quotas for members that went into effect at the start of this year and are to extend through June. Members of that subcommittee said they are satisfied both with OPEC members' compliance with the reduced production quotas and with the level of cooperation by non-OPEC producers in curbing world oil supplies.
Russia will continue its cooperation until the end of the year, said Oleg Gordeev, the country's deputy energy minister, who is in Vienna as an observer at the OPEC meeting. Russia previously agreed to reduce its oil exports by 150,000 b/d during the first quarter of this year, but there was some uncertainty as to whether it would extend that action through the second quarter.
"While Russia would go along with OPEC's (target) prices of $22-28/bbl, it still prefers $20-25/bbl," Gordeev told the UAE news agency.
The April contract for benchmark US light, sweet crudes gained 40¢ to $24.56/bbl Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The May contract also was up, by 36¢ to $24.90/bbl. Both continued to climb in after-hours electronic trading to $24.65/bbl and $24.97/bbl, respectively.
Heating oil for April delivery rose 0.88¢ to 65.7¢/gal during the regular NYMEX trading session. Unleaded gasoline for the same month increased 0.75¢ to 79.95¢/gal. The April natural gas contract regained 5.4¢ to $2.92/Mcf.
In London, futures prices for North Sea Brent oil climbed above $24/bbl on the International Petroleum Exchange in anticipation that OPEC ministers will continue their current production levels at least through June. That should ensure that oil prices will remain comfortably above $20/bbl and closer to $25/bbl through that low-demand period, brokers said.
The April Brent oil contract closed at $24.06/bbl, up 17¢ for the day. It neared the $25/bbl mark at one point Thursday but fell back as traders decided that increase was overdone, brokers said. The April natural gas contract inched up 1.3¢ to the equivalent of $2.25/Mcf on the IPE.
The average price for OPEC's basket of seven crudes gained 42¢ to $22.79.bbl Thursday.
