VOL. XXXI

NO. 18

8-FEBRUARY-1988

OPEC AND OIL PRICES

Otaiba Sees Prices Rising in Near Future

The UAE Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Dr. Mana Saeed al-Otaiba,has forecast that "in one or two weeks" oil prices will stabilizearound the $18/B OPEC benchmark. Addressing a Japanese delegation in Abu Dhabion 1 February, Dr. Otaiba said that OPEC production, including Iraq, wascurrently between 16mn b/d and 16.5mn b/d, forcing a stock drawdown of 3-4mnb/d. "This stock drawdown," he said,...