VENEZUELA SEES FLAT OIL PRICE DESPITE U.S. ATTACK
World oil prices would remain stable
despite the U.S. Attack against Iranian oil platforms and
growing tension in the Gulf, Venezuelan Energy Minister Arturo
Hernandez Grisanti said on Monday.
    He described the situation as "extremely tense," but said
Gulf military activity would not significantly affect prices
because supply and demand were roughly equal.
    Demand for OPEC crude in the final quarter of 1987 was 18.5
mln barrels per day (bpd) and the group's members were now
pumping above 18 mln bpd, he told a news conference.
    Hernandez Grisanti said the supply/demand balance was
precarious and prices were in danger of falling from their
current average of about 18 dlrs per barrel if overproduction
continued.
    Three or four members of the 13-nation Organisation of
Petroleum Exporting Countries were "overproducing in an
exaggerated manner" above their assigned quotas, he said.
    OPEC's overall ceiling is 16.6 mln bpd.
 REUTER
