Thursday, Sep 08, 2011

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Libya's National Transitional Council intends to send a representative to a technical gathering of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries next week, people familiar with the matter said Thursday.

Though the meeting of OPEC's Economic Commission Board, which does not have a decision making role, is scheduled to look at unconventional oil along with the Chinese market, Libya's presence will likely trigger inquiries on its production plans, OPEC delegates said.

The Board, which is tasked with looking at oil markets trends and is meeting Sept. 14-15 in Vienna, would mark the first time the NTC attends an official gathering of the group. It would signal further international recognition for the rebels who toppled the regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi last month.

The new head of Libya's National Oil Corp. Nuri Berruien has told OPEC he is planning to send a recently appointed manager to the meeting, one person familiar with NOC said.

OPEC delegates set to attend the ECB said they would likely use the opportunity to enquire about the country's oil production plans. "We will be curious to know what Libya's production plans are," one delegate said.

Libya's oil production of 1.6 million barrels a day virtually shut down after a civil war erupted in February. The disruption threw global oil markets into chaos, forcing Saudi Arabia to boost its output unilaterally and the International Energy Agency to make a rare release of emergency stocks.

But rebel officials have said they are aiming to restart oil production as early as Sept. 15.

One OPEC delegate said he doesn't expect Libya to bring back significant amounts of oil to global markets until next year. "Even when it returns to normal, [Libyan oil production] will not affect the [oil] price" overall because it has held strong in recent months, another delegate said.

However, the ECB meeting next week is primarily aimed at looking at long-term oil markets developments through studies prepared by OPEC's secretariat.

"The ECB will look at studies on the Chinese oil market, such as refining and consumption, and shale oil," one delegate said.

Both topics are set to be the source of potential challenges for OPEC going forward. On the supply side, many analysts now see oil shale--an unconventional form of oil contained in difficult-to-extract reservoirs--as a serious rival to OPEC's crude.

While at the demand level, weakening appetite from China--the engine of oil consumption growth in recent years--partly led the organization last month to cut its forecast for global oil-demand growth for 2011.

OPEC ministers are set to meet next on Dec. 14 to debate output.

-By Benoit Faucon, Dow Jones Newswires; +44-20-7842-9266; benoit.faucon@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-09-11 1805GMT