Algeria, Libya support unchanged OPEC output rates

Libya and Algeria have agreed ahead of a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) here on Wednesday that there was no need for changing the cartel's output quotas.

• Algerian minister of Energy and Mining Chakib Khelil said upon arrival here Monday evening that “OPEC does not need to change its output levels”. changing current production levels will send a wrong message to the oil market, he added.
• “It seems that the global economy is currently recovering because prices are expected to be good till the end of this year in spite of the big supplies, ” he said.
• on his part, the head of the Libyan delegation to OPEC’s meetings Shukri Ghanim had a similar stance. He said in arrival statements that: “It is better for OPEC countries to maintain the current output ceiling unchanged.” However, he stressed the necessity member states adhered to their quotas.
• The OPEC has left its output targets unchanged since December 2008 when it agreed to cut it by 4.2 million to 24.845 million barrels a day starting from Jan. 2009 and up till now.