Opec, the cartel of oil-producing nations, yesterday rejected calls from consumer countries to boost output, opting instead to freeze production at present levels and revisit the issue in February.

At a policy meeting in Abu Dhabi, ministers of the 13 Opec producer countries decided against a proposal to lift production by 500,000 barrels per day from the cartel’s current daily output of 27.25 million barrels, arguing that the global market for crude oil was “well-supplied”.

Opec, which produces about 40 per cent of the world’s crude oil, has come under heavy pressure in recent weeks from countries, including the United States, which are concerned that oil prices near $100 a barrel threaten to derail global growth at a time of increased economic uncertainty.

However, Opec said yesterday that it could not be blamed for crude prices soaring to record highs of $99.29 a barrel last month. Abdalla al-Badri, Opec’s secretary-general, said: “The market is not controlled by supply and demand . . . It is totally controlled by speculators who consider oil as a financial asset.”

Opec also announced plans for a special meeting on February 1 in Vienna, “given the need for extreme vigilance in assessing the market during the coming months”. The cartel will meet for another scheduled gathering on March 5.

Earlier, there had been signs that some producer countries, including Saudi Arabia – Opec’s largest producer and one of the few member states capable of a significant increase in output – and possibly Kuwait were in favour of a 500,000 barrel per day production increase. Other producer countries, such as Venezuela, Libya and Qatar, had firmly rejected the idea, amid fears that any increase in output could lead to a steep fall in prices.

Opec’s last decision to raise output by 500,000 barrels a day, announced in September, also appeared to have little impact on restraining prices. Three weeks to the day after the increase was implemented, oil prices struck an all-time record.

Cheating by some of the ten Opec members that are bound by production targets, as well as increased output over coming months from countries including Angola, Ecuador and Iraq, are expected to help to ease supply shortages in the coming months.

Opec’s members are Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, which has rejoined, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

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