‘No need for Opec intervention on world market’

ALGIERS – Algeria’s Energy Minister Chakib Khelil sees no pressing need for the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to intervene in the global oil market, despite jitters about supply, the Algerian news agency APS reported Tuesday.

Participating at a symposium in Washington on US energy investment opportunities in Algeria, Khelil – who is also Opec vice president – acknowledged that there had been a “slight rise” in international oil prices and reduced output at Nigerian oil fields hit by unrest. But he added: “Supply and demand remain sufficient overall, and so the market situation does not require intervention on the part of Opec.”World oil prices held firm Monday, after breaching US$67 a barrel in London at one point in the trading session, as traders fretted over tight supply concerns.Unrest in Nigeria has been a factor.The West African nation has lost about a quarter of its output owing to a series of attacks on facilities in the oil-rich Niger Delta.Nampa-AFPBut he added: “Supply and demand remain sufficient overall, and so the market situation does not require intervention on the part of Opec.”World oil prices held firm Monday, after breaching US$67 a barrel in London at one point in the trading session, as traders fretted over tight supply concerns.Unrest in Nigeria has been a factor.The West African nation has lost about a quarter of its output owing to a series of attacks on facilities in the oil-rich Niger Delta.Nampa-AFP