OPEC oil producers are becoming increasingly worried over stubbornly high oil prices and will be exploring "various options" for the September meeting which will hopefully help ease prices, the cartel chief said yesterday.
"We are becoming increasingly concerned at the continuing high level of oil prices, which does not properly reflect the underlying fundamentals of the market," Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah said in a statement in Kuwait City.
"OPEC will be exploring various options for the September meeting which will hopefully contribute to moderate prices," added Sheikh Ahmad, who is also Kuwait's energy minister.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries plans to meet in Vienna on September 19th to chart output policy as prices have surged to record highs. On Friday, US crude futures were hovering just below $68 (€55) per barrel as traders worried that OPEC is pumping flat out and would strain to make up any unexpected outages.
The OPEC president said oil resources and supplies are plentiful and the group has been producing more than the call on OPEC crude by 1.5 million barrels per day in the third quarter of the year.
