OPEC does not see increased US oil output as a threat

OPEC does not see increased U.S. oil output as a threat to its interests but is skeptical about current forecasts on the boom of American shale oil production.

OPEC Secretary General Abdullah Al-Badri also said that figures supplied by Iran show it producing around 3.7 million barrels a day. That is the same amount as Tehran pumped before international embargos on its crude that took effect this year and is estimated to have cost it hundreds of thousands of barrels a day in sales.

Al-Badri spoke to reporters a day after OPEC ministers agreed to keep their daily crude production target unchanged at 30 million barrels. They also extended his term for a year after failing to agree on a successor for the post because of rivalries among Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq, which nominated candidates.

OPEC, which accounts for about a third of the world's oil production, is projecting a slight fall in demand for its crude next year, and world inventories are well stocked, in part because of resurgent production by the United State, which is tapping into oil extraction from shale.

OPEC Sec Gen canvases for political solution to Iran nuclear row

OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem Al-Badri expressed optimism that a political solution to the standoff over Iran's nuclear program could soon be reached. Al-Badri voiced hope in an interview with the website of the Berlin-based German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) that an agreement on the Iranian nuclear dispute could be made soon.
He stressed the Middle East had presently more than enough conflicts to deal with and therfore the Iranian nuclear impasse had to be resolved as soon as possible. Stressing that there was no shortage on the global market, al-Badri predicted global energy demand would increase by more than 50 percent by 2035. The OPEC secretary general said the current uncertain economic situation in the world remained a challenge to his Vienna-based organization.