OPEC contemplates next move on Libya

DOHA, Qatar, March 9 (UPI) -- OPEC members are said to be contemplating a special meeting to consider increased crude production though some say Libyan-related disruptions are minor.

Kuwaiti Oil Minister Ahmad al-Abdullah al-Sabah said Abdallah el-Badri, the secretary-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, was checking with members to see if there was a consensus for an emergency meeting, Bloomberg News reports.

The International Energy Agency estimates that the civil war in Libya has removed as much as 1 million barrels per day from the market. Though easing in recent days, the crisis helped push crude oil and gasoline prices to two-year highs.

OPEC giant Saudi Arabia has more than 3 million barrels of spare capacity, put more crude oil into storage and said recently it was developing a low-sulfur crude blend to offset the loss from Libya.

The Qatari energy minister said at an energy conference in Doha that there was "hardly" any impact on oil supplies due to the Libyan unrest. The Kuwaiti oil minister said there wasn't an immediate need for more crude oil production.

"It depends on the meeting, it has to be a collective decision," he was quoted by Bloomberg as saying of any potential increase in oil production.