OPEC president puts focus on Dec policy meeting
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - OPEC President Mohammed bin Dhaen al-Hamli said on Tuesday the group would take its next decision on output policy in December, further dampening hopes of a surprise production increase at this week's OPEC summit.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' next policy meeting is set for December 5 in Abu Dhabi, but heads of state and oil ministers will be gathering this week in Riyadh.
Asked whether he believed that OPEC needed to increase production, Hamli said: "The next OPEC meeting is going to take place in early December and there we have to look at the market fundamentals and we will take a decision accordingly."
He declined to answer further questions.
Hamli, also oil minister of the United Arab Emirates, was in the Pakistani capital to sign a deal on a refinery investment.
Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Sunday that OPEC would discuss an increase in production when it meets, although he clarified in an interview published on Tuesday that the group would not discuss production policy during the Riyadh summit.
Oil's surge from below $70 in mid-August to a record high near $100 a barrel last week has shone the spotlight back on OPEC, although most ministers have blamed speculation and politics -- not a supply shortage -- for the rally.
Most analysts do not expect any action in Riyadh, where the group's 12 producers are expected instead to call on consumer nations to play their part in helping ensure energy security by providing assurances of long-term demand for OPEC's oil.
(Writing by Jonathan Leff; Editing by Robert Birsel/Ramthan Hussain)
