WORLD OIL PRODUCTION DEMAND HAS DROPPED FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE EARLY 1980'S FOR THE SECOND SUCCESSIVE YEAR, AS THE WORLD ECONOMY REMAINS CONFRONTED WITH THE DEEPEST AND MOST WIDE-SPREAD CONTRACTION SINCE THE 1940'S,

World Demand For Oil Has Dropped: OPEC

WINDHOEK, Dec 29 (Bernama) -- World oil production demand has dropped for the first time since the early 1980's for the second successive year, as the world economy remains confronted with the deepest and most wide-spread contraction since the 1940's, the Namibian Press Agency (Nampa) reported Tuesday.

This observation was made at the 155th extra-ordinary meeting of the conference of the Organisation of Petroleum and Oil Exporting Countries (OPEC) that took place in the Angolan capital, Luanda last week.

In a media statement issued after the end of the conference, OPEC member States said that although the asset market prices have rebounded and economic growth has resumed in some parts of the world, it is not yet clear how strong or durable the recovery might be.

"With the world still faced by shrinking industrial production, low private consumption and high unemployment, the conference once again decided to maintain current oil production levels unchanged for the time being," the media release said, Nampa quoted as saying.

The OPEC members States, in taking this decision, said that this is proof of their repeated commitment to the individually agreed production allocations, as well as their readiness to rapidly respond to any developments which might place oil market stability and their interests in jeopardy.

The Secretariat is to continue closely monitoring the market, keeping member countries abreast of developments as they occur.

The situation will be reviewed at the next Ordinary Meeting of the Conference.

In taking the above decision, Heads of Delegation reiterated OPEC's statutory commitment to providing an economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations, whilst stabilising the market and realising the organisation's objective of maintaining crude oil prices at fair and equitable levels, for the future well-being of the market and the benefit of both producers and consumers.

The conference called on the non-OPEC producers and exporters to work closely with it to support oil markets stabilisation in the interests of oil market stability.

Environmental concerns were also discussed at the conference, while the oil market outlook for 2010 was also reviewed.

OPEC's mission is to co-ordinate and unify the petroleum policies of member countries, and ensure the stabilsation of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers and a fair return on capital to those investing in the petroleum industry.

OPEC is a group of 12 states made up of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, Angola, Venezuela and Ecuador.