VIENNA, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The president of OPEC's 164th conference in Vienna said Thursday the 12-member cartel expects North American oil production to increase.
Kuwaiti Oil Minister Mustafa Jassim Mohammad al-Shamali delivered opening remarks to the meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, serving as president of the conference in Vienna.
Shamali said the cartel expected oil demand to increase because of the gradual recovery under way in the global economy. World oil demand is expected to increase by 1 million barrels per day as the global economy expands, he said.
"Non-OPEC oil supply is also expected to rise in 2014 by 1.2 million bpd," he said in his remarks Wednesday. "This will be mainly due to the anticipated growth in North America and Brazil."
OPEC, in its monthly market report for November, said the Americas are expected to lead in terms of oil production growth for non-member states. Much of the oil production gains in North America have come as a result of the exploration of shale deposits.
Shamali during his address welcomed Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh to the Vienna conference. Iran says it expects the appetite for its oil to grow as Western sanctions pressure eases as a result of last month's nuclear deal in Geneva, Switzerland. Western governments, however, have said sanctions on Iran's oil sector remain in place.
