Opec is in consultations regarding a potential boost in oil output but hasn’t decided whether to approve one, said Kuwait’s Oil Minister.

“We are in consultations about a potential output increase,” Reuters quoted Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Sabah telling reporters as he entered Kuwait’s parliament.

Asked if Kuwait had been increasing its own oil production, Sabah said, “We did not increase production, sticking to quotas.”

However, Sabah said he believed Saudi Arabia was already boosting production in response to the supply shortfalls from Opec member Libya, whose bloody conflict has slashed production.

Sabah gave no timeline for when Opec could decide on any group-wide production boost or whether ministers would convene soon to discuss output policy.

Brent oil futures traded down, falling 1.2% to $113.70 a barrel. They fell by around a barrel following the Kuwaiti comments about a potential Opec supply boost.

Separately, Qatar’s Oil Minister Mohammed Saleh Sada said “oil inventories and production are at an acceptable level globally.” He said Opec and non-Opec countries would step in to make up for any production lost in Libya “in a timely manner”, but declined to comment on any specific plans.

The Financial Times also reported that Opec members including Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Nigeria had plans to boost output before April by as much as a combined 300,000 barrels a day, citing industry officials.

(Source: upstreamonline)