P.M. BRIEFING : OPEC Expected to Weigh New Pricing and Production Levels

CARACAS, Venezuela — Oil-producing countries could establish new pricing and production levels by the end of the week if agreements are reached at an emergency OPEC meeting, President Carlos Andres Perez said today.

OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Venezuela plan to propose that production be increased if necessary to avoid a world oil shortage, Perez said at a press conference.

Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are planning an emergency session, but the date and location have yet to be announced.

President Bush, in a phone conversation with Perez on Monday, repeated a plea for Venezuela to increase production by 500,000 barrels daily.

But Venezuela, while eager to provide the extra oil, has been holding out for an OPEC accord on how to replace the 4 million barrels of oil production blocked by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.