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Venezuela rules out raising OPEC
crude oil production
Venezuela's Energy Minister
Rafael Ramirez said on Monday
that buyers "should not hope"
for a hike in world crude oil
production at the July meeting
of the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Ramirez, who is also head of the
state-owned oil company
Petroleos de Venezuela, said
there was little OPEC could do
now to influence international
oil prices, which hit record
highs in recent weeks.
Everything is on the move in the
world petrol markets, he said.
And the next OPEC meeting will
"allow us to keep monitoring the
petrol market and our policies
together," he said.
He said the main reason for the
high oil prices was the
geopolitical tension over Iran,
a crude oil exporter and OPEC
member, adding that the nation
was being "threatened" by the
United States.
Oil producers have little
capacity to increase pumping,
while oil consumers have little
capacity to increase refining,
he said.
On March 8 in Vienna, 10 of the
11 OPEC nations agreed to keep
the cartel's oil production at
28 million barrels a day.
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