The Vienna OPEC Building ©Vienna Review

The 147th (Extraordinary) Meeting of the Conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was held at the OPEC Headquarters in Vienna on 1 February 2008.
First time participating was the Minister of Mines and Petroleum of Ecuador Dr Galo Chiriboga Zambrano, under the Chairmanship of its President, the Minister of Energy and Mines of Algeria, Dr Chakib Khelil, in order to discuss recent developments in world oil markets.

The Conference discussed oil market developments since its Meeting in Abu Dhabi in December 2007, as well as short-term prospects. It observed that OPEC production decisions had ensured that the market remained well supplied throughout 2007. It also noted that the first half of 2008 was likely to witness a crude inventory build, and supply/demand forecasts indicate that commercial oil stocks are in line with the seasonal trend and are expected to remain within their five-year average during the traditionally lower-demand season in 2008.

In view of the current situation, coupled with the projected economic slow-down, the Conference agreed that current OPEC production is sufficient to meet expected demand for the first quarter of the year. At the same time, however, the Conference noted that the significant uncertainties associated with the projected downturn in the global economy called for vigilant attention to their impact on key market fundamentals until its next Meeting on 5 March 2008. The Conference reiterated the Organization’s determination to take every measure deemed necessary to keep the market stable.

 Click here to see Impressions from the 147th Opec Meeting  

---