CAIRO, Dec 9 (AFP) - Calls mounted Thursday from within OPEC for the cartel to agree a production cut from current record levels by stepping-up quota compliance to counter the sliding price of oil.
Ministers from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries were gathering in Cairo ahead of a key meeting Friday to decide what action to take in face of a sharp fall in oil prices since an all-time peak was reached in mid October.
Kuwait joined the growing chorus of OPEC members favouring a reduction in production, urging OPEC to stop over production above the official output quotas to halt the current slide in crude prices.
"Following the major fall of prices over all the last weeks... I think that at this meeting we must first of all stop all over-production," Energy Minister Ahmed Fahd al-Sabah told reporters before leaving for the Egyptian capital.
He estimated that there were between 1-1.5 million barrels per day of oil on the market in excess of the 27 million bpd total quota agreed by OPEC countries.
The minister called on OPEC ministers to consider reducing the production quota by 500,000 barrels per day from the second quarter of 2005.
His comments were echoed by Venezuela's Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez: "Our belief is that we have to take some decisions in OPEC in order to defend the price, maybe to reduce the over-production," he said.
Libyan Oil Minister Fathi Hamed Ben Shatwan has also come out strongly in favour of an output cut, telling reporters on Wednesday: "We need at least a real decrease of one million (bpd)."
"One million is enough to stop this decrease in prices this time. But for the next (second) half of 2005 maybe we'll need more," he added.
A source close to OPEC said that member countries were divided about output cuts because some were concerned about their market share and others were worried about the recent fall in oil prices cutting into windfall profits.
OPEC's president, Indonesian Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, said that the cartel should keep over-producing despite the fall in oil prices since hitting a all-time peak in mid October.
"Because demand is strong and prices are still high, over-production has to be allowed from an OPEC standpoint," he said.
Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi was careful to avoid giving a strong indication of what action his country prefers, stressing instead that the cartel would take a decision as a group.
"We come with an open mind, we review the data and we decide accordingly, this is only logical way to function as a group," he said.
OPEC, which supplies about 40 percent of the world's oil, has been pumping for months at close to full capacity to try to control skyrocketing prices.
Oil prices have now fallen by about a quarter from the record high of 55.67 dollars a barrel seen in New York in October as supply fears faded.
However, on Thursday prices were rising again on mounting concerns in the market that OPEC may decide to lower output, if only to trim back over-production to the already agreed quotas.
New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January, rose 43 cents to 42.37 dollars a barrel in electronic trading at about 1100 GMT.
In London, Brent North Sea crude oil for January delivery gained by 58 cents to 39.27 dollars a barrel in electronic trade.
"I don't think they'll do anything to the quota, but I think they might signal readiness to do so closer to the second quarter of 2005 if it looks like demand is slowing quickly, or more quickly than expected," Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish said.
"I have a feeling that they are going to come out with something that will emphasize the need to comply better with quotas.
"If they cut quotas, then the oil price will move up quite significantly because I don't think that's what the market is expecting."

12/09/2004 13:42 GMT - AFP