Venezuela's Ramirez believes 2004 will be difficult year for oil market

Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said in the Russian capital that 2004 will be a "difficult" year for the world oil market because of Iraq's expected recovery. Ramirez told at Caracas' embassy here that he was meeting with Russian officials to study oil market trends, which are a growing concern for OPEC.
He said the situation is currently "stable" because OPEC members are complying with their quotas and certain price factors are "balanced," but he added that he was worried about market changes next year.

Ramirez said he believed that an Iraqi recovery could trigger too much production, pushing prices down. "Since midyear, we have employed all measures possible to avoid future fluctuations in the market," he said, while stating that OPEC members want Iraq to remain in the organization, which it helped found.
According to OPEC estimates, Ramirez said, "The Iraqi industry will not recover until the end of the year," which is why the cartel decided to maintain the current level of oil production at its ministerial meeting in Vienna.

Due to the high price of crude and uncertainty in Iraq, OPEC opted to maintain production at 25.4 mm bpd. Current prices are within the OPEC price band of $ 22-$ 28 per barrel, a range the organization considers to be "fair" for both importers and exporters.
Ramirez also invited Russia to join petroleum exploitation projects in Venezuela.