OPEC Agrees on New Price, Output Goals

A majority of the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed Saturday to an interim pricing and production strategy that, even if strictly carried out, probably will not significantly alter the present depressed cost of a barrel of oil.

“We have accepted the price ranges we think we will attempt to work with in the interim period, in addition to setting the production ceiling,” said Rilwanu Lukman of Nigeria, OPEC’s new president.

The Saudi Arabian oil minister, Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani, said the new OPEC production ceiling would be 17.4 million barrels per day for the third quarter of this year beginning July 1, 17.9 million barrels for the fourth quarter and 17.6 million barrels as an average for all of 1986. He said the majority of ministers agreed to shoot for a price target of $17 to $19 per barrel by the end of the year.

Effectiveness Doubted

However, industry observers noted that the production ceiling, which at least three of the 13 OPEC member states flatly rejected, probably will not have the desired effect of boosting oil prices, since it remains too close to OPEC’s present production figure of between 18 million and 19 million barrels a day. Such a marginal change in oil supply will mean only a slight change in today’s price of about $13 a barrel, industry sources here said.

When pressed to say how many of the 13 nations represented at this week’s meeting of the cartel on the luxurious resort island of Brioni agreed to the new strategy, Lukman said: “The bulk of OPEC members have accepted (it.)”

But the oil ministers of Algeria, Iran and Libya quickly dissented on the strategy, and the representatives of Ecuador and Gabon reportedly also demurred.

“So far as I am concerned, there is no agreement,” said Belkacem Nabi, Algeria’s oil minister. “There is nothing on the table. There are just empty dishes.” Nabi told reporters later in the day that he was returning to Algeria, leaving his delegation behind.

“We’re not going to be part of a play,” said Iranian Oil Minister Gholamreza Aghazadeh, adding that he was still holding out for a more drastic overall production cut--to about 14 million barrels daily--to try to shock prices back to the $28 level from which they plunged last November.

Victory for Saudi Arabia

Lukman said that Indonesian Oil Minister Subroto would hold private discussions with each of the national ministers Saturday night and today to establish national quotas that would fit the new ceilings.