MARCH 10: India has requested five member nations of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to raise the crude output level to bring down global oil prices, a government official said on Friday."Our Petroleum Minister has written to Algeria, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Iran requesting them to urge other OPEC members to raise crude production levels to facilitate lowering of oil prices to sustainable stable levels," the official, who did not want to be identified, told Reuters.Oil minister Ram Naik wrote in the letter that developing countries like India, which were dependent on oil imports, "find it very difficult to bear the burden of such high prices", the offcial said.OPEC member-nations are scheduled to meet in Vienna on March 27 to set an output policy following the expiry of the current production curbs set last March.The current curbs, operated in concert with non-OPEC Mexico, have helped triple crude prices over the past year by draining inventories. The curbs have prompted complaints from key importers such as the United States. "The minister has asked that oil production level be raised to meet the demand and build up the depleted world inventories," the official said.Naik wrote that the high oil prices were slowing down economic activity in the developing countries, and would affect both the oil suppliers and consumers in the long run, he added.India's crude and products imports are estimated to increase by 7.5 per cent to 72 million tonnes in 2000/01 (April-March) and demand is forecast to rise to 104 million tonnes from 98 million in 1999/2000, according to media reports.
