OPEC to raise its oil price target to an average of $30 a barrel

AP, Reuters
2004-09-09

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is united on the need to raise its oil price target to an average of $30 a barrel, a top Iranian oil official said on Thursday, but the cartel has yet to agree on when to move its price range higher.

“There is a consensus in OPEC for the need for an upward revision of the price band to the mean of $30,” said the official, Iran’s OPEC governor, Hossein Kazempour Ardebili. “But the members have different views about the timing of the implementation. Some OPEC members think we need a better price environment, less volatility, before we raise the band.”

Ministers from OPEC members are to meet in Vienna on Sept. 15 to review production policy.

OPEC’s reference price has been above the upper limit of its range, which is now $22 to $28 a barrel, since late last year, when prices began to advance on soaring demand and tightly stretched supplies.

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