OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo, speaking to Dow Jones Newswires on Thursday on the sidelines of a producers' meeting in Egypt, gave no timetable for Angola or Sudan to join the group, which has not welcomed a new member since 1975.
Joining offers prestige, but would mean adhering to OPEC production quotas -- though members routinely violate the limitations. OPEC agreed in October to cut total production by 1.2 million barrels a day to about 26.3 millions barrels a day as of Nov. 1, and further cuts aimed at shoring up prices could be coming. OPEC controls about 40 percent of the world's daily oil consumption.
Oil prices are down about 20 percent since hitting a high above $78 a barrel in mid-July, though light sweet crude for January delivery rose 57 cents to $63.03 a barrel Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
David Fyfe, an International Energy Agency analyst, told Dow Jones Newswires that Angola and Sudan could significantly boost OPEC's influence over global oil markets because of the added volume. But Fyfe pointed out the cartel was having trouble getting existing members to adhere to quotas, speculating that adding members would only make that more difficult.
Angola's crude production, most of it from offshore rigs operated by foreign companies, has climbed to around 1.4 million barrels a day but is expected to reach 2 million barrels a day by April. Sudan produces about half a million barrels a day.
Angola's announcement that it planned to apply for OPEC membership appeared to have little effect on prices. Ehsan Ul-Haq, chief analyst at PVM, noted Angola would not be joining before March, and said "they don't produce enough to have an immediate impact."
A senior Angolan official told The Associated Press the formal membership request would be presented at OPEC's Dec. 14 meeting in Abuja, Nigeria. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.
Angola said in a statement late Wednesday the application stemmed from its "growing role in the world oil sector."
The southwest African country is China's largest supplier of crude after overtaking Saudi Arabia this year.
Foreign oil companies operating in Angola include Chevron Corp., BP PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp., and Total SA. State oil company Sonangol oversees the sector and awards operating licenses.
In Vienna, OPEC spokesman Omar Farouk Ibrahim said he did not foresee any problems with Angola's application, noting it has been an observer for some time and has attended OPEC conferences with that status.
Three-quarters of the membership must approve an application, including all founding members -- Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Venezuela.
OPEC member Venezuela supports Angola's membership bid, that country's oil minister, Rafael Ramirez, told reporters in Venezuela Thursday.
OPEC currently has 11 members. Ibrahim said Gabon, in 1975, was the last country to join the organization, two years after Ecuador joined in 1973. However, both withdrew in the 1990s. Nigeria joined in 1971 and has remained a member.
Oil revenues provide around 80 percent of Angola's state income. The country, a former Portuguese colony, is now relatively stable politically after a ruinous two-decade civil war ended in 2002.
Human rights groups, however, have accused Angola's leaders of concealing the exact amount the country receives from crude sales and of stealing some of the money. Angolan officials have denied the charges.
The International Monetary Fund has also complained about a lack of openness in oil sector accounting in Angola
Angola steered closer to the United States in the early 1990s and has maintained close ties with France. However, since the civil war ended Angola has deepened cooperation with China and, more recently with Russia.
Last month Russia's OAO Lukoil and Sonangol signed a memorandum of understanding on joint exploration of Angola's offshore oil fields.
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