Word: bbl
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...producers' troubles are expected to push down crude prices, which have already been sagging as the economy slows and consumption diminishes. One OPEC member, Nigeria, last week sliced $4 off the price of a barrel of its high-quality oil, bringing the cost down to $36 per bbl., and inviting price cuts from competitors like Libya and Algeria...
Saudi Oil Minister Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani further encouraged hopes that a compromise would be reached, telling journalists coyly on the first day of the conference: "We are happy with the price of oil at $32 per bbl., but we do not oppose a little increase." As the conference unfolded it became clear that there was no firm deal at all, and one reason was that both Indonesia and Venezuela were having little difficulty selling oil for more than the $34-per-bbl. maximum price that Yamani would accept...
Further complications arose when Nigeria announced that, unless a reunified pricing agreement was reached, it would undercut even Saudi Arabia's existing price of $32 per bbl. for comparable grades of crude in order to boost sales. The country is currently losing an estimated $1.5 billion monthly from its dwindling oil business, and its $8 billion in foreign exchange reserves could run out by year's end. "They [the Nigerians] are on the verge of panic," said one conference delegate. "We are all nervous about this...
With negotiations totally stalled, the delegates took an unprecedented step. They asked their heads of government to appeal to Saudi Arabia's King Khalid to accept a compromise at $35 per bbl. But the effort came to nothing. As a belated gesture of good will, Yamani announced as soon as the conference ended that, although his country was sticking by its $32-per-bbl. price, it would nonetheless help tighten the market for other OPEC producers by cutting Saudi production by 1 million bbl. daily in September...
...price relief could be surprisingly short-lived. Reduced OPEC production has already begun to work off the global crude surplus. Constantine Fliakos, an oil analyst with the Merrill Lynch investment firm, calculates that world oil production is now falling short of demand by at least 1 million bbl. per day. Autumn, when northern countries prepare for winter, is normally a period of increased energy demand. And, although oil tanks are full, they could quickly begin to empty. Then oil prices might start climbing once again...