OPEC considers enlarging membership to Sudan, Angola – report

June 1, 2006 (CARACAS) — The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, the oil cartel, is for the first time in more than 30 years considering enlarging its membership, the Financial Times reported..

Oil ministers arriving in Caracas for their meeting today were awaiting the report of Nigeria, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the 11-nation oil producer group, on its invitations of membership to Sudan and Angola.

Angola and Sudan, both observer members of Opec, are two of the world’s fastest growing oil producers.

Angola’s production is 1.25m barrels a day, having risen almost 80 per cent in the past decade. Sudan produces about 500,000 b/d.

Their membership would boost Opec’s share of world oil supply from 41 per cent to 43 per cent.

Abdullah bin Hamad al- Attiyah, Qatar’s energy minister, has backed the proposal, but said he was waiting for details. “I will support Sudan’s membership in Opec. Opec is an organisation for exporting countries, and Sudan right now is exporting a lot of oil.”

While Khartoum has signalled it would like to join the group, Luanda’s intentions are unclear.

Omer Mohammed Khail, Sudan’s undersecretary of energy and mining, said: “Sudan is now qualified to join Opec according to conditions set by the organisation for membership.”

Delegates cautioned that Nigeria’s invitation was the first step in a long process that could still end with the rejection of the proposal either by Opec or the candidates.

Russia and Kazakhstan have in the past decade been the two oil producers thought of as most likely to join Opec, but the countries were neither officially invited nor made a formal approach.

Edmund Daukoru, the Nigerian energy minister, said his country’s initiative was “a region contact” with important oil producers. Nigeria is keen to broaden the Opec membership of sub-Saharan countries.

I a Parallel move, Venezuela president Hugo Chavez wants to invite Bolivia and Ecuador to join OPEC. The Ecuadorian oil minister said Arab countries have invited the former member back into the organization it left in 1992.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi said he would be open to new members. “We’ll welcome any producing and exporting countries that want to join,” the minister said.

(ST)