Vienna——In spite of Iraq’s decision to stop
oil deliveries, the 11- nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC)will not increase production to
make up the shortfall, ministers decided Tuesday in Vienna.
The 11 oil ministers decided to meet again
on July 3 to discuss the effects of the Iraq temporary stop. The organization’s
president, Charkid Kheria of Algeria, said after the meeting that stocks were
high and prices were stable, so quota increases were not necessary.
The E.U. Commission has expressed concern
about Iraq’s output stop. A speaker said OPEC had to take all possible measures
to keep or lower the oil price.
Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali Al-Nuaimi
had earlier said there would not be any shortfall of oil in the market. The
organization had already taken steps to fill the gap, he said. OPEC Secretary
General Ali Rodriguez added that the period of Iraq’s output stop was not
known, so other exporters were not going to lift quotas yet. If the market was
destabilized(使……动摇), a suitable response could
be made.
Iraq on Monday stopped shipments of crude
oil to protest against the U.N. Security Council’s decision to extend the
oil-for-food programme by only a month, instead of the normal six-month
renewal. Just before the Vienna meeting, oil prices had gone up, with a barrel
of OPEC crude oil selling for 27.05 dollars, up from 26.81 dollars last Friday.
North sea oil was at 29.26 dollars Monday evening.
OPEC wants the oil price to stay within a
margin of 22 to 28 dollars and achieved that with cuts in January and March
that reduced 2.5 million barrels per day off quotas(配额).
56. Iraq made the decision to stop oil
deliveries because ___________.
A. oil price is too low in international
market.
B. The U.N. Secretary Council has decided
to shorten the time of extension of the oil-for-food programme
C. Many oil wells were destroyed during the
war in the late 1980s
D. It couldn’t get enough money to develop
its economy
57. The attitude the E.U. Commission took
towards Iraq’s output stop is ________.
A.
active B.
concerned
C. cold
D. surprised
58. The underlined words“The
organization”here refers to ________.
A.
OPEC B. the E.U.
Commission C.
Vienna D. WTO
59. The main idea of the passage is ________.
A. the oil prices in the world were stable
though Iraq has stopped oil deliveries
B. OPEC has controlled the oil price to
stay within a margin of 22 to 28 dollars
C. OPEC will not increase oil production to
make up the shortfall that caused by Iraq
D. Oil is connected with people’s daily
life
60. The 11 oil ministers decided to meet on
July 3 so that _________.
A. they can persuade Iraq to continue oil
production
B. they can have a talk with the U.N.
Security Council
C. they can have a discussion about the
effects of Iraq’s temporary output stop
D. they can make up their minds to increase
oil production