Norway hoping to persuade OPEC to reverse oil quota cut

Norway, the world's third-biggest oil exporter, wants OPEC to reverse its decision to cut quota production targets next month in a bid to keep prices below US$30 a barrel and help sustain a global economic recovery.

"I take comfort from the fact that OPEC has said it might consider reversing the cut," Norway's Oil and Energy Minister, Einar Steens-naes, said on a visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), OPEC's No. 5 producer. Steensnaes visited Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, later yesterday for talks with Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi.

Norway fears accelerating global economic growth will sustain demand for fuel, keeping prices higher than US$30 a barrel, even as the onset of spring in the northern hemisphere re-duces the amount needed for heating, Steensnaes told reporters at an embassy reception in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, late yesterday.

Prices in excess of US$30 a barrel could in turn hamper the economic recovery, he said.

Crude oil rose to a five-week high on Friday on speculation that gasoline inventories will be insufficient to meet demand during the summer driving season. Crude oil for April delivery rose US$0.65, or 1.8 percent, to settle at US$36.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest close since Jan. 20 when prices rose to US$36.20, a 10-month high.

OPEC agreed this month to lower output by 1.5 million barrels a day as of today and cut quotas by another 1 million barrels on April 1, reducing production by almost 10 percent. Norway isn't an OPEC member.

Rising oil prices may lead to "further action" before the group is next scheduled to meet on March 31, OPEC president Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Feb. 12.

The International Energy Agency, which advises 26 nations on energy policy, boosted its estimate of the rise in global oil usage this year for the fourth consecutive month last month to 1.4 million barrels a day, amid surging demand from China.

Consumption will total 79.9 million barrels a day, it said in a monthly report.