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Wednesday, 31 December 2003
FORMER AZERBAIJANI OIL SECTOR HEAD SAYS CASPIAN OPEC UNREALISTIC
By empty (12/31/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev\'s recent proposal that the Caspian littoral states should create a cartel analogous to OPEC to regulate oil production is not feasible at the present time, Sabit Bagirov, a former president of Azerbaijan\'s state oil company SOCAR, told Interfax on 31 December. Bagirov pointed out that \"the Caspian states have not yet reached a level of oil production that could account for a significant share of the market,\" and that it is \"too early\" for Azerbaijan to make specific commitments on export quotas to any organization. But he added that a coordinated policy will be needed by 2010, assuming that Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan attain optimum levels of output by then.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev\'s recent proposal that the Caspian littoral states should create a cartel analogous to OPEC to regulate oil production is not feasible at the present time, Sabit Bagirov, a former president of Azerbaijan\'s state oil company SOCAR, told Interfax on 31 December. Bagirov pointed out that \"the Caspian states have not yet reached a level of oil production that could account for a significant share of the market,\" and that it is \"too early\" for Azerbaijan to make specific commitments on export quotas to any organization. But he added that a coordinated policy will be needed by 2010, assuming that Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan attain optimum levels of output by then. Nazarbaev said on 28 December that the Caspian states should establish a counterweight to OPEC \"before it is too late.\" (Interfax)