KUWAIT ENERGY DIALOGUE:OPEC PRODUCTION LIKELY TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 002484 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA AND EB E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2015 TAGS: EPET ENRG ECON KU OIL SECTOR SUBJECT: KUWAIT ENERGY DIALOGUE:OPEC PRODUCTION LIKELY TO REMAIN AT 30.3 MILLION BPD REF: STATE 96427 Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.5 (d). ¶1. (C) Ambassador spoke with Energy Minister Shaykh Ahmed Al-Fahd Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah on June 6 to discuss points in reftel. He appreciated information about U.S. energy planning and initiatives. As for OPEC production, he noted that at the Isfahan meeting production had been around 28.8 million barrels per day (bpd),while since then it had climbed to 30.3 million bpd. He said that he was confident that official production would stay at these levels through the next OPEC session, noting that that prices are still high. He said that his soundings with OPEC colleagues indicated that they are comfortable with keeping production levels stable. ¶2. (C) Shaykh Ahmed has made a number of statements to the press indicating the same approach as he outlined to Ambassador. Most recently, Reuters reported that Shaykh Ahmed indicated on June 6 that OPEC might raise its output ceiling at the June 15 meeting in Vienna. Reuters quoted Shaykh Ahmed as commenting that "Prices are too high and we have to do something. So, maybe we'll increase the ceiling because of the prices." However, he cautioned that since OPEC member states are already exceeding their production quotas, raising the ceiling would likely have little impact on OPEC's overall output. ¶3. (C) Shaykh Ahmed will travel to the United States at the end of the month with the Kuwaiti Prime Minister. Ambassador noted that there might be an opportunity to meet with Secretary Bodman. The minister said he was eager to do so, SIPDIS as he had not met the Secretary, while many of his counterparts had. LEBARON