Click on the countries on the map to see details such as ministers'
names, current output, current quotas and habitual political positioning
within the organization.
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| Minister's name: |
Chakib Khelil |
| September output: |
1.3 million b/d |
| September 2006 quota: |
894,000 b/d |
| Positioning: |
Driven by a need to keep revenues
from natural gas high, Algeria historically has been an OPEC
price hawk, often seeking to persuade the organization to cut
production in order to raise prices. Algeria is seeking a disproportionate
increase in its OPEC quota to bring it into line with its growing
output capacity. |
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Minister's name:
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Purnomo Yusgiantoro
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September output:
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860,000 b/d
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September 2006 quota:
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1.451 million b/d
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Positioning:
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An OPEC pragmatist, Indonesia
typically acts to help keep agreements intact or to achieve
consensus across the group. Indonesia's oil production capacity
has been declining and independent estimates of its monthly
output suggest that it cannot produce its current quota.
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Minister's name:
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Bijan Zanganeh
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September output:
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3.950 million b/d
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September 2006 quota:
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4.110 million b/d
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Positioning:
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Like Algeria, Iran has been
hawkish in its outlook for many years, partly because its
ability to export more crude oil has been circumscribed by
a geological ceiling and rapidly rising domestic oil consumption.
However, Tehran has shown an increasing level of pragmatism
over the past few years.
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Minister's name:
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Thamer Ghadban, appointed June 2004. Served as acting oil minister mmediately after the end of the US-led war in Iraq in 2003. Replaced Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum. Amer Rasheed, the last oil minister to serve under President Saddam Hussein, is in US custody.
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September output:
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2.140 million b/d
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No quota:
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None. Iraq does not have an OPEC quota. Between late 1996 and mid-March 2003, Baghdad exported crude under the UN's oil-for- aid program. Ghadban indicated in the autumn of 2003 that there would be little point in discussing Iraq's return to the OPEC quota system until its production reached 3.5 million b/d. Iraqi production and exports have been restricted by sabotage in the north and power generation problems in the south.
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Positioning:
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Not really a participant since 1990, when its invasion of Kuwait brought strict international sanctions against Baghdad. Iraq exported crude between December 1996 and March 2003 under the UN's oil-for-aid program. It does not have an OPEC quota.
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Minister's name:
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Sheikh Ahmed Fahed al-Sabah
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September output:
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2.540 million b/d
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September 2006 quota:
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2.247 million b/d
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Positioning:
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Often acts in concert with fellow
Gulf members Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.
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Head of Delegation's name:
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Fathi bin Shatwan
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September output:
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1.720 million b/d
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September 2006 quota:
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1.500 million b/d
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Positioning:
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Once the third vocal price hawk
of the group along with Algeria and Iran, Libya has in recent
years been more inclined to accede to collective decisions.
Libya is also seeking a disproportionate increase in its quota
in line with its expanding capacity but has not given a figure.
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Head of Delegation's name:
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Edmund Daukoru, presidential
adviser on petroleum
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September output:
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2.300 million b/d
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September 2006 quota:
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2.306 million b/d
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Positioning:
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Normally a pragmatic player.
Adherence to OPEC quota levels tends to be the result of production
problems rather than strict implementation of OPEC pacts.
Nigeria has been working to boost its reserves and production
capacity and is seeking a disproportionate increase in its
OPEC quota.
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Minister's name:
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Abdullah al-Attiyah
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September output:
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830,000 b/d
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September 2006 quota:
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726,000 b/d
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Positioning:
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An inveterate quota violator,
Qatar's primary interest is in its natural gas production.
Its constant but small overproduction of oil over the past
10 years has been so much a part of the scene that other OPEC
members tolerate it. Oil minister Abdullah al-Attiyah held
the OPEC presidency in 2003.
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Minister's name:
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Ali Naimi
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September output:
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9.100 million b/d
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September 2006 quota:
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9.099 million b/d
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Positioning:
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The kingpin of the organization
by virtue of its huge production capacity. Saudi Arabia has
more strategic flexibility than the rest of OPEC, but is sometimes
constrained by short-term need for cash. Its longtime goal
has been price stability at levels which won't destroy oil
demand in the long run but its analysis of supply and demand
led it in late 1997 to push OPEC into a production hike which
crashed prices. More recently, Riyadh has boosted its output
beyond official quota levels in an effort to stem last year's
relentless price surge which took US light crude prices above
$55/bbl in October 2004. Saudi output rose to 9.5 million b/d
and stayed at that level for several months. At OPEC's Dec
10, 2004, meeting in Cairo, Saudi Arabia led the group in
a move to cut overproduction by 1 million b/d, of which the kingdom's
share would be around 500,000 b/d.
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Minister's name:
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Mohamed bin Dhaen al-Hamli. Appointed
November 2004. A former OPEC governor, he replaced Obaid al-Nasseri.
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September output:
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2.600 million b/d
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September 2006 quota:
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2.444 million b/d
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Positioning:
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Of the seven emirates which
make up the UAE, only Abu Dhabi truly participates in OPEC
decision-making. In recent years, the UAE has typically followed
the Saudi lead. The newly-appointed Hamli affirmed in November
last year that there would be no change in the energy policy
of the UAE, which he said was committed to maintaining adequate
supplies to guarantee market stability and world economic
growth.
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Minister's name:
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Rafael Ramirez
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September output:
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2.550 million b/d
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September 2006 quota:
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3.223 million b/d
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Positioning:
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Once a major thorn in the side
of those seeking rigorous production controls in OPEC, Venezuela
dropped its aggressive overproduction stance when it changed
governments in 1998. But the commitment of President Hugo
Chavez to OPEC output accords and a crippling two-month oil
strike in the winter of 2002-03 have led to a significant
decline in Venezuela's crude production capacity. This was
estimated to be as high as 3.6 million b/d as recently as 1998
but by 2002 was reckoned to have fallen to 3 million b/d or lower.
Some analysts believe the strike, which was aimed at forcing
Chavez into calling early elections, further lowered capacity
to around 2.5-2.6 million b/d. The government claims production
has climbed back above 3 million b/d.
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