VIENNA — OPEC oil ministers have decided to maintain its production target at 30 million barrels a day. They have also agreed Wednesday to meet again June 11. If the sanctions on Iran's oil exports have gone by then, then the June meeting could be focused on attempts to curb overproduction. Oil ministers say they are happy with present prices and that supply and demand are in balance. But Iran's oil minister said his country will push to produce pre-sanctions levels as soon as possible, even if that drives prices sharply lower. Iraq also wants to increase production, and Libya says it hopes it can boost output once unrest ends. “We know demand is good, economic growth is good, supply is good,” Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi told reporters at OPEC headquarters in the Austrian capital. OPEC members Nigeria and Venezuela each said ahead of the meeting that they believed it would agree to maintain its crude oil production ceiling. Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members argue that benchmark crude oil prices, currently averaging $100 per barrel, provide acceptable income for producers without weighing too heavily on consumers. “The price of oil is acceptable and there will be some additional oil coming to the market from OPEC and outside OPEC,” Qatar's Energy Minister Mohammed Al-Sada said on Wednesday. “What is more important is that this additional oil will be needed for the signs of economic recovery.” Sada added: “The current (output) situation seems to be comfortable... 30 million barrels seems to do justice to the current economic situation.” — Agencies
