OPEC can do nothing to douse scorching oil prices when markets are already oversupplied by 2.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude, Iran's OPEC governor said on Saturday, warning that prices could fall sharply. "Now there are more than 2.8 million bpd of crude more than demand," Hossein Kazempour Ardebili was quoted as saying on the Iranian Oil Ministry Web site. "There is no reason for OPEC members to increase production," he added. "This organization is unable to do anything at present." "It seems that prices will continue to go up without taking into consideration the basic elements of the market, supply and demand," Kazempour said. "The current trend of prices stems from political and military developments." He reiterated that oil prices could still crash if security fears subsided. "If a calm political and military situation prevails in the market, the amount added to crude reserves will pressure the price," he said. The Organization of the Petrolem Exporting Countries, due to meet next on September 15, is already pumping at a 25-year high of 30 million bpd, casting aside the restraint of official quotas.
