6th July 2000

Oil production

Twice already this year, Saudi Arabia has decided to pump more oil. The previous occasion was a collective OPEC decision taken less than two weeks ago, when oil ministers gathered at the organisation’s headquarters in Vienna. OPEC’s Secretary General Rilwanu Lukman said at the time, that deal was intended to bring prices down. In fact, the price of the main benchmark types of crude oil has risen since then. The organisation is concerned that too high a price sustained for too long would encourage consumers to switch to other energy sources. A high price also makes it more economic for users to invest in energy conservation.

OPEC: acronym standing for Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries

a collective .. decision: a decision which is made and shared by all members of a group is a collective decision

gathered: when people gather, they come together and meet in a group

benchmark: an accepted standard against which other things are measured or compared is known as a benchmark

crude oil: oil in its natural state, before it has been processed, is called crude oil

sustained: if something is sustained then it is continued and not ended

conservation: if you save something, you conserve it: the noun is conservation

capacity: the capacity of something is the amount or number of something that it can hold or produce

exception: if something is an exception, it is different from the others, or is not included with them

ample: if you have ample of something, you have more than enough

put into action: when you put something into action you start or begin it.

protesting: if you protest about or against something you say in public that you do not approve of it.