Opec may anounce output hike within two weeks

LONDON - Opec could announce a 500,000 barrels per day output hike within two weeks if oil prices stay above US$55 for at least the next 10 days to 14 days, Nigerian Presidential Adviser on Petroleum Edmund Daukoru said on Sunday.

"I think we will take the decision shortly if the price stays above US$55 for 10 days or two weeks," Daukoru told Reuters in an interview. "I think the decision can be announced within two weeks."

Opec chief Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah said on Saturday he was likely to start telephone consultations with the group's oil ministers on Sunday on raising output.

Daukoru said he had not been contacted yet but that he agreed the group should start talks immediately on implementing the output rise.

US light crude oil prices hit a record high of US$57.70 a barrel on Friday.

Opec lifted its formal output ceiling by 500,000 bpd to 27.5 million bpd in mid-March and said it would hold consultations on whether to increase quotas by a further 500,000 bpd if oil prices stayed high.

- REUTERS