<DIV><SPAN class=date4>Jun 16 2004 12:52PM</SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV>Russia not to increase oil production at OPEC request</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>VYSOTSK. June 16 (Interfax) - Russia does not plan to increase oil production at the request of OPEC, Federal Energy Agency Director Sergei Oganesian told Interfax. </DIV>
<P class=text>"We are working according to our own plan. We do not have valves that we can open or close. We are producing as much as we can," he said. </P>
<P class=text>OPEC plans to propose to countries not in the cartel, including Russia and Mexico, to increase production to reduce world prices, OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro told journalists in Jakarta. </P>
<P class=text>He said that he plans to write letters to countries not in OPEC and that he hopes that they will have the reserve capacity to do this, he said. </P>
<P class=text>He also said that OPEC would propose to Angola, Oman and other countries to increase production. </P>
<P class=text>During the 131st extraordinary OPEC conference on June 3, 2003, the cartel's oil ministers decided to immediately increase oil production by 2 million barrels (8.5%) to 25.5 million barrels per day, and by another 500,000 barrels in August this year. </P>
<P class=text>In so doing OPEC agreed the largest increase in production quotas in the past six years. </P>
<P class=text>Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar-Zanganeh said that OPEC members might postpone the additional increase in production by 500,000 bpd if this increase is not needed. They will reach a decision on this at their next meeting. </P><p>
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