United Arab Emirates oil minister Mohammad Al-Hamli said Thursday that the Gulf state is happy with current oil prices, and that the market is well-supplied, a day after the president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said the oil body doesn't need to hold an emergency meeting as oil prices are rising.
United Arab Emirates oil minister Mohammad Al-Hamli said Thursday that the Gulf state is happy with current oil prices, and that the market is well-supplied, a day after the president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said the oil body doesn't need to hold an emergency meeting as oil prices are rising.

OPEC's fifth-biggest producer--currently producing 2.6 million barrels a day--will continue to supply its customers with crude if they ask for it, he said.

"Our customers keep coming to us and asking for more," Mr.Hamli said. "We don't turn away clients if they ask for more oil."

OPEC agreed in June to maintain its existing oil-production ceiling of 30 million barrels a day and pledged to rein-in overproduction after some members complained that a glut of oil could lead to a price crash.

OPEC didn't disclose any individual production quotas for its members, but asked them to adhere to the collective production limit and warned the global economy faces downside risks.

Since OPEC's last meeting, Iran and Algeria have called for an emergency meeting to discuss prices, while the group's president, Iraqi Oil Minister Abdul Kareem Luaiby, has already sent a letter to member states reminding them to comply with the ceiling. Venezuela has also proposed restoring OPEC's price band mechanism at between $80 and $120 per barrel.

Gulf OPEC members, including top oil producer Saudi Arabia, oppose the call to discuss prices, especially after they have rebounded recently, delegates have said.

Earlier this month, Iran 's OPEC Governor Muhammed Ali Khatibi acknowledged that "there has been some improvement in prices," but overall "there has been a downward trend, so members are worried."

A non-Gulf OPEC delegate said Iran 's call for a meeting is "meant to increase prices, because Iran wants to compensate for the lost oil they cannot export because of sanctions."

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