Ministers say OPEC keeping output ceiling unchanged

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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SHOTLIST : 1. Exterior of OPEC building in Vienna 2. OPEC logo and flags 3. Conference member entering building 4. Press 5. Kuwaiti Oil Minister, Sheik Ahmad Fahd al-Ahmad al-Sabah, entering building 6. Press 7. Indonesian Oil Minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, entering building 8. OPEC logo inside news conference room 9. Wide shot of presser 10. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Omar F. Ibrahim, OPEC Press Officer: "The conference decided to maintain currently agreed production levels. In this connection the conference reiterates its call of member countries to ensure strict compliance with agreed production levels." 11. Various of press 12. Wide shot of presser 13. SOUNDBITE (English) Sheik Ahmad Fahd al-Ahmad al-Sabah, OPEC President and Kuwaiti Oil Minister: "The market is well supplied and there is almost about 500-thousand over-production in the market. But even with that, because of the weather and geo-political tension the price is in high level now. For that, when OPEC decided to continue with the ceiling, we didn't decide to continue because of there is enough supplies on the market but even with the over-supply we decided to continue just to stabilise the rises in the market." 14. Various press 15. Al-Sabah leaving conference room 16. OPEC flag and police sniper on roof 17. OPEC flag flapping in the wind STORYLINE: Consumers received no solace from OPEC, which said Sunday that oil prices near the US$50 barrel range would remain high through the spring, but decided to keep its production ceiling unchanged. The decision, reached at a truncated meeting of the 11-nation group, means that consumers worried about the price of winter heating oil and gasoline will likely see no relief in their bills or costs at the pump. Kuwaiti oil minister Sheik Ahmad Fahd al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who leads the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said he was given permission to conduct a telephone meeting before the next gathering on March 16 in Iran to address output if market conditions warrant. OPEC's current quota of 27 million barrels a day was decided on in December, when the group agreed to shave output by 1 million barrels. But the 10 members of the group subject to the quota - Iraq is not bound by a limit - have been overproducing by a total of 500,000 barrels daily. Al-Sabah said prices have been driven higher amid fears of a cold winter in Europe and North America, where demand for heating oil is high. The group also decided to temporarily suspend its price band of US$22 to US$28 a barrel, which was set in March 2000 and has largely been ignored since 2004. OPEC's output decision also was a signal that it doesn't believe that higher prices for its oil to fuel development in Asia, particularly in China and Asia, will cause any slowdowns. OPEC, which accounts for one-third of the world's oil supply, is seeking to keep its buyers - and their consumers - from becoming jittery that prices could resume their climb. On Monday, the markets will show their reaction to OPEC's decision and the elections in Iraq. The first multi-party election in half a century saw polling stations hit by suicide bombings and mortar attacks aimed at wrecking the vote. At least 44 people died, including nine suicide bombers. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/afe9f903e740935b19173a400c8391af Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork