OPEC president expects group to raise output ceiling

The president of OPEC today said he expected the oil group to raise its production ceiling at its meeting in Vienna next week.

Sheik Ahmed Fahd Al Ahmed Al Sabah, who is also Kuwait’s energy minister, said he believed the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries would raise its output to counter the increase in oil prices. He did not suggest the size of the possible increase.

The group meets in Vienna on June 15. Yesterday, Iran’s OPEC representative said his delegation would urge fellow OPEC member states to trim their production, bringing the total output down to the current ceiling. OPEC states are known to be producing above their output quotas.

Opec’s official production ceiling is 27.5 million barrels a day, but the group is currently producing more than 30 million barrels a day.

Oil prices fell slightly today, as the buying frenzy for heating oil eased, but they remained above 54 dollars a barrel.