Thread: Oils and Energy

original article at... http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060423/opec.html?.v=4


OPEC Head Predicts Oil Prices Will Fall
Sunday April 23, 7:27 pm ET
OPEC President Predicts Oil Prices Will Fall, Stabilize in 'Upper Fifties to Lower Sixties'

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- OPEC President Edmund Maduabebe Daukoru predicted Sunday that oil prices would fall from their current high of just over $75 a barrel to stabilize in the "upper fifties to lower sixties" as political tensions ease.


Daukoru, who is also Nigeria's petroleum minister, was in Doha for the three-day International Energy Forum that began on Saturday.

Crude-oil prices hit a new record Friday, fueled by concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions and tight U.S. gasoline supplies.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries president said the solution to high prices lies in a calmer international environment and boosting refining capacity -- not increasing output which would only clog the market.

"If we do the right things by lowering international tensions, oil prices will definitely stabilize," he said.

Oil ministers from several countries are taking part in the event organized by Riyadh-based International Energy Agency.

"The important thing is that we should begin now (to increase refining capacity) so that we do not continue with these kinds of problem beyond the next three years," Daukoru said.

"When the capacity is tight, you get a wide fluctuation of prices -- up or down -- depending upon the particular circumstances."