The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided on Wednesday at its 146th ministerial conference not to raise production, saying that the market continues to be well supplied.

Oil ministers of OPEC member countries "observed that market fundamentals have essentially remained unchanged, with the market continuing to be well supplied and commercial crude/product stocks remaining at comfortable levels in terms of days of forward cover," said a spokesman for the cartel at a press conference after the meeting.

The meeting therefore decided to leave OPEC production unchanged for the time being, he added, saying that OPEC is determined "to take every measure deemed necessary to keep market stability through maintenance of supply and demand in balance."

OPEC's decision to maintain its production was not unexpected since ministers of Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Qatar had voiced unwillingness to raise their production ahead of the meeting.

"There's no reason for prices to go high," because there is enough stock of oil in the world, said OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri when he was asked about the outlook of oil prices as winter begins in the northern hemisphere.

"We have no target for prices. The market is controlled by speculators," not by demand-supply fundamentals, Badri added.

The meeting attributed the volatility of oil prices to the perception of market tightness by market players, the heavy influx of financial funds into commodities, speculations in the markets and geopolitics.

"We do not set the prices. ... There is disconnect between market fundamentals and what the prices are," said Mohamed Bin Dhaen Al Hamli, OPEC President and Minister of Energy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The meeting decided to give Angola and Ecuador quotas of 1.9 million barrels per day and 520,000 barrels per day respectively.

Oil ministers and senior officials from Egypt, Oman, Russia, Sudan and Syria attended the meeting as observers.

OPEC ministers also decided to hold an extraordinary meeting in Vienna on Feb. 1, 2008 to assess the market.

Editor: Donald