Energy head on oil mission Secretary Bill Richardson to take a trip to urge more oil production March 18, 2000: 1:09 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson is planning a new round of energy diplomacy, with meetings with officials from OPEC members Nigeria, Indonesia and Algeria to urge them to increase oil production, the White House said on Saturday.

Richardson's trip comes just a week before the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meets in Vienna on March 27 to decide whether to ramp up production to help close a two million barrel-per-day shortfall in world oil supplies.

Richardson's itinerary was not released. The White House had said Richardson was going to Nigeria, Indonesia and Algeria but a government official later said that Richardson would not necessarily make a stop in each of the countries.

The official said Richardson would leave the United States on Sunday and be away for one week. Richardson will also meet with the oil minister of the United Arab Emirates, an OPEC member, and energy officials from countries in the International Energy Agency, the official said. Earlier on Saturday, Richardson met in California with Saudi Arabia's oil minister and he will speak with Kuwait's oil minister by telephone this weekend, the official said.

"We continue to believe that it is in the interest of both oil producers and oil consumers alike to have a steady and reliable flow of oil, one in which supply does not fall short of demand," said White House

http://cnnfn.com/2000/03/18/economy/oil_wg/

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), March 18, 2000