Saturday October 21 7:42 PM ET U.S. Energy Secretary Asks OPEC Pres for More Oil

CARACAS (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson on Saturday asked OPEC (news - web sites) President Ali Rodriguez for the cartel to increase its oil production in the short term to cool oil prices simmering near their highest levels in 10 years.

Richardson met with Rodriguez, Venezuela's energy and mines minister, during a one-day visit to Caracas to push for a lowering of oil prices to between $20 and $25 a barrel. U.S. crude for November delivery traded around $33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday.

A joint statement read by Rodriguez after their meeting said ``the secretary asked the minister to seriously consider the possibility of a production increase in the short term to raise (oil) inventories.''

The statement added that ``Minister Rodriguez informed Energy Secretary Richardson...OPEC intends to increase production at the end of this month if it is necessary according to its price band system.''

Under the terms of OPEC's price band, the cartel will increase its production by 500,000 barrels a day, or 0.7 percent of world demand, on October 27 unless the price of its basket of crudes falls below $28 a barrel.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001021/pl/venezuela_richardson_dc_2.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 21, 2000

Answers

I wonder if Richardson wears knee pads.

-- Uncle Fred (dogboy45@bigfoot.com), October 21, 2000.

Richardson has needed knee pads all year long. He has been doing this since January.

-- Chance (fruitloops@hotmail.com), October 21, 2000.

Another nincompoop

-- David Williams (DAVIDWILL@prodigy.net), October 22, 2000.