2002 - OPEC

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Reference Basket had fallen by around $5/b from the near-$25/b average of the first eight months of
2001; further falls in the ensuing weeks took the price briefly below $17/b.
OPEC’s Conference in mid-November agreed to cut output by an additional 1.5m b/d for six months
from January 1, 2002 – making a total reduction of 5m b/d – but only if non-OPEC responded with a
commitment to a total cut of ten per cent of that figure. When non-OPEC finally made such a commitment,
to the tune of 462,000 b/d, OPEC implemented its new agreement.
This eased the pressure on prices. So far this year, the Basket price has averaged around $18.5/b,
well above the averages for November and December.
Press Release No 3/2002, Vienna, Austria, March 15, 2002
119 th Meeting of the OPEC Conference
The 119 th Meeting of the Conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
convened in Vienna, Austria, on March 15, 2002, under the Chairmanship of its President, HE Dr Rilwanu
Lukman, Presidential Adviser on Petroleum & Energy of Nigeria and Head of its Delegation.
The Conference extended a warm welcome to HE Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Acting
Minister of Oil of the State of Kuwait, and to all other Heads of Delegation.
The Conference welcomed high-level representatives from Angola, the Arab Republic of Egypt, Mexico, the
Sultanate of Oman, the Syrian Arab Republic, and the Russian Federation, whose presence at the Meeting
is seen as confirmation of their solidarity with the objectives of the Organization to stabilize the market.
The Conference renewed the expression of its appreciation of the pledges made by Angola, Mexico,
Norway, Oman and the Russian Federation and recognized their contribution made so far to the
Organization’s efforts to stabilize the market.
The Conference reviewed the Secretary General’s report, the report of the Economic Commission Board
(ECB), the report of the Ministerial Monitoring Sub-Committee (MMSC), and various administrative
matters. The Conference also reviewed the current market situation and its immediate prospects,
and noted the encouraging signs of world economic recovery and its effect on the oil market. The
Conference further noted the positive market consequences of the actions taken by OPEC and non-
OPEC producers to bring about stability to the market.