Angola: In Luanda, Angola’s capital, member’s of oil production company OPEC have gathered, but analyst have shown favor not to change the production quotas. The meeting held on Tuesday in African nation saw a gathering of ministers from 12 member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Africa has recently emerged as oil power.

This meeting is in the lime light as the traders are more interested in the production quotas. Last year this group had brought emergency quotas which helped in stabilizing the oil process at the time of economic crisis.

A Saudi Minister, Ali Al Naimi whose country is one of the most important member of OPEC, said that the crude price were excellent now. “We will look at the market, that is all,” he said.

There was a rise in the oil prices, since the company imposed several restrictions. As a result, stockpiles of crude oil can make the market weak when the demand for crude oil falls.

Abdullah El-Badri, the secretary general of OPEC said that the rising production levels at this time is not on our radar. “But if you look at fundamentals, especially inventory and the stocks, they are a bit high,” Badri said. “So we have to do something about this.”

Iraq’s recovering oil industry is opening a new hope for the OPEC ministers and to raise its production levels such that Saudi Arabia can become its rival. Hussein al-Shahristani, Iraq’s oil minister said it was a special case as Iraq was recovering from war and has no expected any oil production from Iraq.”I don’t expect any discussion on setting quotas or even discussing till we reach the point when there is a significant increase of Iraqi production,” he said. it might take two to three years for production.

Currently Iraq is exempt from giving quotas, because of which members are seeking to limit production to stabilize oil prices. El Badri said one day we will discuss this but not now.

Angola joined the OPEC in 2007 as has got international profile, since it has overtaken Nigeria and has become Africa’s largest crude oil producing nation. But Angola has got lot of internal disputes and several decades of civil war. And majority of the people are still living in poverty and have very less access to food and clean water.

[Source: Associated press]