LUKMAN SEES STABLE OIL PRICE FOR NEXT COUPLE YEARS
The current crude oil price of between
18 and 20 dlrs a barrel will remain stable over the next couple
of years, rising only one to two dlrs a barrel per annum to
keep up with inflation, OPEC President Rilwanu Lukman said.
    Lukman, who was speaking during talks with Swedish trade
officials, said the stable price depended upon output restraint
by both OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers, Swedish government
officials said.
    They said Lukman, who is also Nigerian oil minister, made
the remarks whilst talking about the connection between Third
World debt and industrialised nations.
    Crude oil output controls did not necessarily mean higher
energy bills for the world's industrial nations, Lukman said.
    Although very low oil prices, such as those seen around the
beginning of the year, may appear beneficial for the industrial
countries that depend on imported energy, they would only lead
to wastage and overdependence on the fuel in the long term, he
said.
    This in turn would bring a swing back to extremely high
prices, he added.
    Sweden, heavily dependent on imported oil, suffered a major
crisis in the mid-1970s, when oil prices spiralled.
 REUTER
