President of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Mohammed bin Dhaen Al Hameli said on Monday that the organization is committed to providing sufficient supplies to the oil market when needed.

 

The promise was made by Hameli, who is also Minister of Energy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), ahead of OPEC's 146th Meeting of the Ministerial Conference which is scheduled to be held in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, a report by Emirates News Agency said.

 

The meeting will discuss supply and demand situation to decide the next step, he said.

 

"OPEC does not interfere in oil pricing. The prices are determined by the market factors and other factors such as speculations and geopolitical developments," Hameli said.

 

Oil ministers of non-OPEC producing countries are invited to the meeting for talks and cooperation among producers to support market stability, he added.

 

OPEC is under increasing pressure from consumer countries to raise production to lower prices.

 

The Vienna-based cartel said Monday that the weekly average OPEC oil prices dropped to 88.78 U.S. dollars per barrel last week after soaring above 90 dollars per barrel in the previous week.

 

The upcoming meeting in Abu Dhabi is expected to reach a final decision on the production of OPEC, which currently has a reserve capacity of 3.5 million barrels per day (bpd).

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2007)