Oil Producers Call For Maintaining $60-70/Barrel

(LWN) Officials of various oil-producing countries, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Venezuela, are calling for the price of oil to be maintained at sixty to seventy U.S. dollars per barrel.

According to the Kuwait News Agency, the Oil Minister of Oman said on Monday that $60-70/barrel is a beneficial price level for both oil-producing countries and nations that purchase oil. He stated that Oman hopes to raise production before the year’s end.

Month/Year	Price Per Barrel
March, 2007	$58-61
December, 2007	$87-95
May, 2008	$119-127
October, 2008	$61-96
January, 2009	$39-48
June, 2009	$68.59

The same day, Reuters quoted a Libyan official as saying that the cost per barrel is “still underpriced”, and that he expected it to continue increasing. Bloomberg News reported in late May that the Saudi oil minister expressed the belief that prices would reach $70-80/barrel and preferably remain in that range.

Bloomberg also recently reported that Venezuela’s Finance Minister indicated that a $70/barrel price is desired by OPEC, as the member countries need to invest money in petroleum exploration and refining. He pointed to the dollar’s falling value as a reason for rising prices.

Crude oil prices have risen to near $70 lately, raising concerns that they could further interfere with efforts to end the recession affecting many countries. High prices, coupled with inefficient energy use, likely played a major role in triggering the recession.

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