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Dubai: Opec's output policy decision in March will depend on how much crude oil stocks have been drawn down during the winter, influential Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al Nuaimi told Al Arabiya television.
Al Nuaimi said predictions of output decisions at the Opec meeting in March were premature, but inventories were currently at the low end of the five-year average range.
"I believe that by the second quarter, stocks will be near the mid-point of the five-year range," Al Nuaimi told the station on the sidelines of the latest Opec meeting in Vienna.
Al Arabiya broadcast his remarks on Saturday.
Opec decided on Friday to keep oil supplies unchanged and price hawks in the organisation said it may need to curb output at a meeting in March to defend prices against a drop in demand should the United States topple into recession.
Demand for oil usually falls in the second quarter, as the northern hemisphere winter comes to an end.
Al Nuaimi said the second quarter was usually used to build up stocks drawn down during the winter, and how much leeway Opec would allow for stock build-ups in the spring would depend on how much fuel was used during the winter.
Appeals rejected
Opec's decision essentially rejected appeals from Washington for more oil to lower fuel bills and bolster its slowing economy.
Al Nuaimi said Opec was constantly coming under pressure but much of it was political rather than grounded in economic facts.
World oil prices were not under the exclusive control of Opec, Al Nuaimi added, citing speculation and geopolitics as well as environmental conditions as important factors affecting prices.
Opec made its decisions based on supply and demand fundamentals, he said.
Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter and the most influential member of Opec, is a close US ally and Opec delegates said it may prefer to nurse the West through an economic slowdown that could eat into crude oil demand.
But Iran and Venezuela raised the prospect of output cuts in March.
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