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November 15, 2009

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Oil production likely to remain stable

Monday, Sept. 24, 2001 | 9:34 a.m.

LONDON -- Terror attacks on the United States together with fears of a dramatic slowdown in the global economy create a backdrop of uncommon urgency for OPEC oil ministers meeting this week in Vienna, Austria, to review their crude production quotas.

As suppliers of almost 40 percent of the world's oil, members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have the power to help shore up the buckling global economy -- or speed its descent into recession.

In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, some analysts believe OPEC members might discuss reversing this month's cut in output of 1 million barrels a day -- though the cartel is likely just to renew its existing quotas.

"OPEC doesn't need to do anything. What OPEC should avoid doing now is to cut production to get prices back up again. If they did, they would make a recession worse," said Leo Drollas, chief economist of the Center for Global Energy Studies in London.

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