Rise in OPEC oil output quells fear of $100 barrel

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) increased crude oil production by 300,000 barrels per day (b/d) in May, according to a Platts survey of OPEC members, oil industry officials and analysts.   Platts, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, is a global provider of energy and commodities information. Its latest survey showed production rose from 28.09 million b/d in April to 28.39 million b/d in May.   Production had already risen in April for the first time since August 2008.   May production increases totaling 320,000 b/d from Angola, Iran, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iraq were slightly offset by a 20,000 b/d decline in Venezuelan output.   "With the recent increases in crude oil prices, the drumbeat that we're on our way back to $100-per-barrel-oil has been growing louder," said John Kingston, Platts global director of oil.   "But this month's surge in output shows that OPEC has a lot of productive capacity that it can bring on the market relatively quickly, and that should certainly prove a hurdle to any move back to three-digit oil prices."   Before April, OPEC production had fallen steadily in response to the plunge in oil demand caused by the global economic recession.   OPEC is next scheduled to meet in September.     *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *