RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez opened an OPEC summit on Saturday with a chilling warning about 200-dollar oil if the United States attacks Iran in a speech that also urged the cartel to be more political.

But internal divisions about the role of the oil exporters' group were highlighted when King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, OPEC kingpin and key US regional ally, sounded a moderate note, saying oil 'must not become an instrument for conflict.'

RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - South American oil producer Ecuador has rejoined the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which it left in 1992, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced on Saturday.

In an opening speech at a summit of OPEC leaders here, Chavez referred to 'the 13 member countries of OPEC,' indicating that the previously 12-member cartel had welcomed in the new member.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa was sat with the other 12 representatives from the member nations of the organisation, which pumps about 40 percent of world oil.

RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, announced Saturday a multi-million-dollar fund to tackle global warming that is set to focus on finding technological solutions to the climate change problem.

Making the announcement at the opening of the third OPEC summit in Riyadh, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz said the kingdom will invest 300 million dollars (200 million euros) to develop technology to tackle climate change.

RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez broke Saudi Arabia's strict religious laws during an opening address at an OPEC summit on Saturday by making a sign of the cross at the start of his speech.

The Catholic leftwing president, who issued a warning about rocketing oil prices and encouraged OPEC to become actively involved in foreign policy, began his speech with the ritualistic Christian hand movement.

RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - OPEC leaders began a summit on Saturday with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez issuing a chilling warning about oil prices in a speech that also urged the group to be actively involved in foreign policy.

The fiery leftist leader warned in an opening speech that crude prices could double from their current already-record level of near 100 dollars a barrel if the United States attacked Iran or Venezuela.

RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said on Saturday that oil should not be allowed to become a tool of conflict, in a speech at the opening of the OPEC summit in Riyadh.

'Oil is an energy for construction and must not become an instrument for conflict,' he said.

RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned on Saturday that oil prices could hit 200 dollars if the United States attacked Iran or Venezuela, in an opening speech at a summit of OPEC leaders.

'If the United States was mad enough to attack Iran or aggress Venezuela again the price of a barrel of oil could reach 150 dollars or even 200 dollars,' he said.

'The basis of all aggression is oil. It is the underlying reason,' he said, pointing to the war in Iraq and US threats against Iran.

RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - OPEC heads of state met in Riyadh on Saturday for a rare summit, with the organisation divided over the falling US dollar and attempts to give a political impetus to the oil-exporting cartel.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez took the podium for the opening as he joined fellow leaders from OPEC oil-exporting countries for only the third gathering of heads of state in the organisation's 47-year history.

RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - A summit of leaders from member nations of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, only the third such gathering in the organisation's 47-year history, began in the Saudi capital on Saturday.

All heads of state from the group's 12 members were present, with the exception of Libya's Moamer Kadhafi and Indonesia's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was represented by its vice president, Jusuf Kalla.

RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived Saturday in the Saudi capital to join fellow leaders from OPEC oil-exporting countries for a rare summit.

The two-day gathering of heads of state from the 12-member Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries is only the third in the cartel's 47-year history.

A smiling Ahmadinejad, who waved to television cameras as he walked from his plane, was greeted by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah.

RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has arrived in the Saudi capital for a summit with fellow leaders from OPEC oil-exporting countries.

The two-day summit of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries is only the third in the organisation's 47-year history, bringing together 12 heads of state from the oil-rich nations.

A smiling Ahmadinejad, who waved to television cameras as he walked from his plane, was greeted by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah.

RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - The surge in oil to nearly 100 dollars a barrel has raised 'significant' concerns that the high prices will hit demand in the longterm, Nigerian Oil Minister Odein Ajumogobia said Saturday.

The minister, speaking on the sidelines of a summit of leaders here, said: 'There must be concern that the high price will eventually surpress demand.'

RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - The surge in oil to nearly 100 dollars a barrel has raised 'significant' concerns that the high prices will hit demand in the long term, Nigerian Oil Minister Odein Ajumogobia said Saturday.

The minister, speaking on the sidelines of a summit of leaders here, said: 'There must be concern that the high price will eventually surpress demand.'

He added: 'We've seen it before when we had a high price that led to recessionary tendencies, which depressed demand and then the price crashed.'

RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - OPEC heads of state converged on Riyadh for a rare summit opening Saturday with the organisation divided over the falling US dollar and attempts to give a political impetus to the oil-exporting cartel.

In a gaffe late Friday, a private meeting of ministers from the 12 members of the cartel was mistakenly broadcast to journalists, revealing a spat between Saudi Arabia and anti-US members Iran and Venezuela about the waning US currency.

TEHRAN, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Iran's president Mahmoud Ahamdinejad said on Saturday that crude prices, hovering close to 100 dollars a barrel, are still lower than the actual value, the state news agency IRNA reported.

'The pressure on the fossil energy (oil) market is not artificial and the price of this commodity is lower than its actual price,' Ahmadinejad said before leaving Tehran for an OPEC summit in Saudi Arabia.

Ahmadinejad also said that pricing oil in US dollars was affecting the producing countries.

CARACAS, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez pursued an ambitious diplomatic mission Saturday aimed at persuading OPEC nations to maintain oil prices at their current level, defending Iran's nuclear program, and stepping up efforts to get Colombian rebels to release hostages.

Chavez wants the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries summit in Saudi Arabia this week to take on a stronger 'political and geopolitical' role and return to its stance of the 1970s when it tightened the screws on consumer nations.

RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - OPEC heads of state converged on Riyadh for a rare summit opening Saturday with soaring oil prices and long-term crude supplies high on their agenda amid fresh tensions over member Iran.

The two-day summit, only the third in the organisation's 47-year history, will not discuss increasing supplies to cool high prices, ministers have said, leaving the issue for their meeting in Abu Dhabi on December 5.

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - Kuwait's interim Oil Minister Mohammad al-Olaim said on Monday he expects lower oil prices as a result of a boost in OPEC output set to take effect next month.

'We think that the demand-supply will be affected positively by the 500,000 barrels increase,' said Olaim, referring to the production rise coming into force on November 1.

'Everybody knows... high prices are not related to supply and demand issue,' he said. 'They are related to other things like geopolitics, refinery production in the US and others reasons.'

TEHRAN, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) - Iran, OPEC's number-two exporter, hit out Saturday at the recent hike in oil prices, saying real prices were far lower than the 90-dollar-a-barrel level of last week.

'Oil is still cheap,' acting Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said in an interview with the Iran newspaper.

'The sweet taste of oil is not tangible because it is very far from the range that is expected by us (Iran and OPEC),' Nozari said.

VIENNA, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - OPEC maintained its estimate for world oil demand growth in 2007 even as oil prices jumped to fresh record highs Monday.

'World oil demand growth for 2007 is forecast at 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) or 1.5 percent,' the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its October monthly report, released as the price of New York hit a record high of 85.19 dollars.

OPEC's estimate was unchanged from the report released in September.

QUITO, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - Ecuador will return to OPEC's fold next month, its President Rafael Correa said Saturday.

'Ecuador is going to be taking a great step next month, which is its return to the Organization of Petroeum Exporting Countries,' Correa said in his weekly radio program.

Ecuador's bid is backed by Venezuela, the only Latin American member of OPEC. Ecuador produces 530,000 barrels of oil per day -- the country's top export -- and is the fifth largest producer in South America.

DUBAI, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - Qatar's energy minister said crude oil prices, which have surged recently to record levels above 80 dollars a barrel, should be more than 100 dollars.

'If we take into account inflation from 1972 to the present day, the real and fair price for oil should be more than 100 dollars,' Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah said in remarks aired by Al-Jazeera television on Tuesday.

LISBON, Oct 2, 2007 (AFP) - Angola, the newest member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, would be satisfied with an oil production quota of 2.5 million barrels per day in 2008, a top official at national oil company Sonangol said on Tuesday.

'That does not pose a problem,' company vice president Fernando Roberto was quoted as saying by the Portuguese news agency Lusa when asked about an output limit of 2.5 million bpd.

PARIS, Sept 30, 2007 (AFP) - Oil output in Nigeria has plunged by a quarter since the start of 2006 in the face of political unrest in the Niger Delta, reducing the country's influence in OPEC and limiting the effectiveness of OPEC itself.

Nigeria, Africa's biggest producer, accounts for a daily output of 2.6 barrels at peak production, but violence in the oil-producing south has reduced the figure by a quarter since January 2006.

LONDON, Sept 30, 2007 (AFP) - The weak US dollar is slashing the value of oil revenue for the biggest crude producers, leading analysts to predict that OPEC will not rush to hike output again despite tight world energy supplies.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries recently decided to increase its crude output by 500,000 barrels, from November 1, to help ease soaring oil prices and send a signal that the cartel cared about consumers.

TEHRAN, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - Iran on Wednesday said OPEC would not allow itself to be pressured by consumers in the face of rising oil prices, saying current record crude highs were good for oil exporting countries.

'The talk that OPEC is a provider and a regulator of prices and therefore can be pressured is not acceptable,' government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham told reporters after oil prices hit new highs in Asian trade.

'Only around 30 percent of the world's oil comes from OPEC and there is no need to impose pressure on OPEC countries,' he added.

PARIS, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - The new head of the International Energy Agency urged OPEC oil exporters on Tuesday to increase their production if oil prices remained at their current record levels above 80 dollars per barrel.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided last week to increase its output by 500,000 barrels from November 1 to help ease prices and send a signal that the cartel cared about consumer countries.

VIENNA, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) - The head of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Friday the cartel would fix a quota on how much oil new member Angola may produce by January 1.

'We're discussing this. We'll be talking until the end of this year and there'll be a number at the start of next year,' OPEC Secretary General Abdalla El-Badri told journalists here.

Asked whether that meant January 1, 2008, El-Badri said yes.

The quota would likely be announced at the cartel's meeting in December, he added.

VIENNA, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) - OPEC chief Abdalla Salem El-Badri said Friday the current oil price of 80 dollars did not reflect fundamentals and was unlikely to last long.

'I don't think 80 dollars (per barrel) will last,' El-Badri told journalists here. 'The fundamentals do not support the price.'

El-Badri said that the current price of oil was 'too high.'

But OPEC did not have a target for the oil price, he said.

'We're not in favour a high price or in favour of a low price,' the cartel chief said.

VIENNA, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) - OPEC maintained its estimate for world oil demand growth in 2007 despite current economic problems, the powerful cartel said in a report Friday.

'World oil demand growth for 2007 is forecast at 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) or 1.5 percent, broadly unchanged from the last' report in August, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its report for September.

VIENNA, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) - OPEC chief Abdalla Salem El-Badri said Friday the current oil price of 80 dollars did not reflect fundamentals and was unlikely to last long.

'I don't think 80 dollars (per barrel) will last,' he told journalists here. 'The fundamentals do not support the price.'

The current price of oil was 'too high' but OPEC did not have a target for the oil price, he said.

'We're not in favour a high price or in favour of a low price,' the cartel chief said.

VIENNA, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - OPEC oil exporters have agreed to increase their output by about 2.0 percent from next month, but oil markets are set to remain tense for the remainder of the year, analysts believe.

Despite the OPEC decision, prices in New York finished at their highest closing level ever on Tuesday at 78.23 dollars, not far off their all-time record of 78.77.

VIENNA, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - OPEC exporters agreed Tuesday to pump an extra 500,000 barrels of oil a day to cool near-record crude prices, in a victory for Saudi Arabia over its reluctant partners.

Analysts said that while the gesture would ease fears about a supply crunch heading into the northern hemisphere winter, the peak demand period for oil, it would be unlikely to lower prices significantly.

VIENNA, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - The head of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Tuesday he expected the cartel to fix a quota on how much oil new member Angola may produce by early next year.

'We have a common understanding that by the beginning of 2008 they will have a quota,' OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri told journalists after a meeting of the 12-member cartel in Vienna.

VIENNA, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced Tuesday that Algeria's oil minister will take over the presidency of the organisation in 2008.

The 12-member oil cartel said in a statement that it had elected Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil for one year, starting on January 1, 2008.

Khelil will take over from current president, United Arab Emirate Energy Minister Mohammad bin Dhaen al-Hamli, with Angola's Desiderio da Gracia Verissimo e Costa acting as alternate president.

VIENNA, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - OPEC exporters agreed Tuesday to pump an extra 500,000 barrels of oil a day to cool near-record crude prices, in an apparent victory for Saudi Arabia over its reluctant partners.

Analysts said that while the gesture would ease fears about a supply crunch heading into the northern hemisphere winter, the peak demand period for oil, it would be unlikely to lower prices significantly.

VIENNA, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - OPEC exporters agreed Tuesday to pump an extra 500,000 barrels of oil a day to cool near-record crude prices in an apparent victory for Saudi Arabia over its reluctant partners.

The cartel is to open the taps from the beginning of November to ensure adequate supplies to the market heading into the northern hemisphere winter, the peak period for oil demand, ministers and OPEC announced.